Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts
by dan heron
Summary: Sometimes, saving the girl is just the beginning of the story. Now the heroine needs to work for her happy ever after, no matter how many more girls she will have to save to get there... even if she has to drag them kicking and screaming. DISCONTINUED
1. A knight and her Princess

Black Rock Shooter belongs to HUKE, who is all kinds of awesome. Especial thanks to IzanagiMikoto for being nice enough to make this readable.

Here we go again. For those reading for the first time, this is actually a rewrite of the first chapter. I wasn't really happy with the original so I added a bit more character related stuff.

Chapter 2 will get a similar treatment, but I won't go overboard like in this one -over twenty pages of text already-, just polishing some details and making Mato's voice more active during the conflict.

Shameless plug: check _**Battle Fantasia Project**_ over SpaceBattles in the Creative Writing section and here in FFnet under the name _**Battle Fantasia: Unity**_ in the Crossover - Anime X-overs & Game X-overs section. The BRS team's introduction to the conflict is awesome, truly a shining moment of awesome and badassness for the BRS girls and Signum from Nanoha. You really need to read it, I can't make it justice here unless I just paste the entire chapter

Anyway, _**FAIR WARNING:**_

This is not gonna turn into a grimderp story

There won't be paragraphs on end of stupidly detailed and gratuitous violence

No boring shonen fight scenes -you know, yelling for powerup and pulling up supah powahs out of their asses whenever it is most convenient for the hero-

Maybe most important warning, there will be _**GIRLS LOVE, **_or Yuri if you will. Nothing explicit, certainly nothing sexual for the normal girls beyond holding each other and sharing a little kiss. The Otherselves in the other hand may get a bit more steamy but still nothing that would turn this into a M-rated story.

On with the show!

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 1**

_**A knight and her Princess**_

_**~Inicio~**_

_It is simple._

**_~Dying Flame~_**

Blue eyes opened slowly, staring without seeing at the dark ceiling above her.

There was a moment of confusion, of not knowing where she was or in fact who she was. There was only pain, hurting so badly she couldn't move without risking her body fighting against her own orders.

Why… was she alive? Why was she here?

Did it even matter?

She was alone… a new pain accompanied the agony of her body with the knowledge of her loneliness. She didn't know why it was, since she could only remember but a few minutes, but knowing there was nothing, nobody with her... that she was alone… that was worse than anything else. Not even the feeling of her body splitting apart if she moved in the wrong direction could compare to that pain of this solitude.

Maybe she should just close her eyes and let go.

**_~Naïve Heart~_**

She was ready to take on the world! A new school, a new year, and new chances of making friends this time! She had been up and ready since dawn had broken and had enjoyed an early breakfast with mom. She'd even gotten to check her special place.

Yeah, she had almost missed the train, but that was just a little accident. From now on she wasn't going to be late for school ever. The train would help her be on time from now on.

It was a new chance to start again and if she kept trying her best then good things would come to her.

She noticed some of the other girls, looking so clean and nice and well, girly, that she couldn't help feeling a bit self conscious about her own looks. She checked her reflection on the doors and tried fixing her tie and taming her hair. Hopefully the ponytails made her look girly enough.

She got down from the train and made the short walk towards the school, waving good mornings to all the girls she could, trying to make a good first impression. She could get to know many of them later on, right?

The school was already in sight and she hurried a little before noticing a parked car in front of the school.

'_Wow, that's such a nice car. Looks expensive too,'_ she noticed. One of the doors opened and a girl came out.

**_~Dying Flame~_**

She let out a pained gasp, almost surprising her enough to make her jump out of her resting place.

There was a feeling in her chest. A very strong one!

It was…strange. It was hurting, but not bad like the rest of the pain.

It was…nice but so confusing.

She opened her eyes again but instead of the darkness and chaos she could see…the sky… the street… her school…?

'_Such green eyes_…'

**_~Awed Heart~_**

She stared as the other girl climbed out of the car. There was nothing she could do avert her gaze as the girl leaned over to the window and smiled to the driver in a way that made her feel a little dizzy on the head.

Then the other girl looked in her direction…

'**Such green eyes**…'

And she gasped, finally noticing she had been holding her breath the entire time. The other girl simply closed her eyes and turned around, not even saying hi or anything… She felt a little pang in her chest, but she ignored it, staring at the retreating back of the other girl for several long moments…

That is until the girls behind her pushed her out of the way to let them walk into the school.

Embarrassed by her actions, she only managed a quick bow before they walked past her, not even looking at her apologizing. 'Nice first impression,' she thought with a wince. She quickly recovered though and looked in direction of that mysterious girl.

**_~Flame~_**

She couldn't go back to sleep.

Even when the world went back to colorless dark shades, every time she tried to close her eyes and let herself go back into the dark she would instead see those green eyes. Every time she remembered those green eyes that pain in her chest grew stronger. That feeling in her chest was so different of the pain on her body.

It felt good.

With each passing moment she realized she wanted to see those eyes again… she wanted to caress that delicate and pale face… touch that gentle smile… she wanted to have that smile directed at her.

She wanted to find her again.

**_~Naïve Heart~_**

'_She's in my class.'_

The thought kept repeating on her head. It kept on bouncing over anything the teacher tried to tell them, making her want to just rise from her seat and walk towards the green eyed girl. Her body was full of intention and confusion. As it was, the teacher was still talking and telling them something about the opening ceremony, so she simply tried to sneak a better look of that tall girl, but when that failed, she stared at the sheet in front of her.

It was the seat placement with all the names of the students. She counted the rows and found the name she was looking for…

'_Wow, that's a hard name to read! What kind of kanji is that? Kotori... Asobi...? Little birds playing, huh?' _

What an odd name for such a pretty girl. She almost let out a sigh when she noticed how the other girl was sitting perfectly straight and paying attention as if it was expected with this air around her that said refined, high-class.

The other girl's presence seemed to scream: "_I'm a princess and you can't touch me, or you'll get tossed in the dungeon." _

She smiled as she couldn't help imagining the other girl dressed in pretty and expensive clothes, like those of royalty! Wouldn't it be fun if she was really a princess - the daughter of a daimyo of old dressed in one of those flowing kimonos? Or at least the daughter of a rich family, heir of the clan! Uh-oh, the teacher was looking in her direction.

**_Sleeping Flame~_**

She tried to stay awake but it was becoming increasingly hard. The pain before had kept her from relaxing, and then those green eyes made her feel extremely restless; by now she was just drained. The physical pain was nothing but a dull ache, just an insignificant reminder that she couldn't move for some reason.

The odd pain in her chest was still there, but it was slightly different now. For some reason the need to find that girl wasn't as consuming as before, as if she had already found her, as impossible as that was.

The urge to close her eyes became even stronger and she clenched her fists, knowing that she wouldn't be able to remain awake. To just stop existing had been so appealing some time ago, but now it caused an unusual emotion course through her body, an emotion she didn't want to feel.

No matter how hard she tried, she knew it was impossible to remain. No matter how much she wanted, it was just impossible.

For some reason she felt her eyes brimming with tears and a new pain grew in her chest.

Her eyes finally closed as she felt something trickling down her cheeks.

**'No, I can find a way. I can't just give up without trying!'**

For a brief moment she blinked her eyes open before the exhaustion forced them closed again. As the darkness engulfed her a single thought went through her mind.

_'Can't give up.'_

**_Naïve Heart~_**

They were making their way back to the classroom after the opening ceremony when she finally spotted the elegant girl. She thought the other girl would have had a flock of girls wanting to be friends with her by now, but for some reason the green eyed girl was walking alone. Nobody was even trying to approach her either. Good! It was her chance to make her move then!

… Now how was she going to do that?

Okay, so she had no idea how to approach another girl, but it couldn't be that hard, right? Yeah, she was nervous as heck, but she only had to go there and say hi, right? Right!

But, the car other girl came to school in looked expensive, and she was so refined... Was there anything she could even talk with the other girl about? Maybe classy girl would just tell her to go away and never bother her again...

_'… No, I can find a way. I can't just give up without trying!'_ She nodded decisively, squaring her shoulders.

**'Can't give up.'**

She smiled and hurried to walk next to the tall girl. She cleared her throat and pushed on.

"Hey! Uh..."

The other girl pulled back in surprise. "Y-yes?"

Now that she had her attention she only needed something to talk about... oh crud. "Eh, ah well, you see... Oh yeah! Your height!"

"My height?"

"Yes, you're tall! Must be nice," she said, raising a hand over her head, showing the difference of their heights.

The other girl only stared for a moment before saying a simple: "Right," and then walked away. She felt her stomach painfully twisting but she couldn't give up now. Plastering a smile on her face she caught up again with the taller girl.

"O-oh yeah, I saw you came in a car this morning. I was like, whoa, people really do that!"she said excitedly.

The other girl didn't even look in her direction. "I didn't want to, but my father insisted. So it was only for today."

"Do you live close by?"

"No, Machinami-cho."

She felt her heart about to burst out of her chest at that piece of info. "That's my neighborhood!" she told her and that got a reaction. The other girl turned in surprise, as if looking at her for the first time.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I take the train from Kibata Station," she replied. The other girl immediately smiled a little and the sight made the shorter girl positively beam in sheer joy. She could even feel her cheeks warming up and her heart beat as fast as if she had been running all the way from home.

"Well, we're neighbors," the tall girl said as if she couldn't believe it. "From tomorrow I'll be taking the train from that station too, then."

"That's so cool!" That meant she would get to see other girl every morning then! "Hey, where did you go to elementary school?" she asked.

"Not around here. I just moved here recently," the other girl said in a subdued voice.

"Oh, that's why!"

"Why what?"

"Well, Kotori-Asobi is a pretty uncommon name! I would remember it if I had heard it before!"

The other girl giggled quietly behind her hand and the smaller girl looked at her in confusion.

"Takanashi," no hawks?

"What?"

"It's pronounced 'Takanashi'. 'Kotori-Asobi' is how you write it."

"Huh? Why is it pronounced Takanashi?"

"Well, where 'little birds play' there are 'no hawks'."

"Oh, I see! That's a cool name... but a little difficult to read," she said with a little pout.

The other girl smiled cutely again.

"I think so too."

"Takanashi... Takanashi...," She started to say the name, almost as if tasting how it sounded, trying to memorize every syllable into her mind.

"Takanashi Yomi."

She blinked and turned back to Takanashi-san. "Uh?"

"My full name."

She was so surprised that she didn't know what to say for a moment. 'Her name is Yomi...'

"Ah, Kuroi. Kuroi Mato! But you can call me Mato!" she replied, hoping with every fiber in her body that Yomi-san would call her by her name.

"Mato..." Yomi said slowly as if trying the name before a beautiful smile grew on her face. "That's a nice name."

'She-she thinks my name is nice?' she could feel butterflies dancing in her stomach and she smiled widely before turning around, trying to hide her blush."T-thanks!"

"Ah, Mato-chan!"

"Yes?" she asked, a big smile still plastered on her face.

"It's here. This is our classroom..."

Mato looked up. "Oh, right, yeah!" she chuckled in embarrassment but hearing Yomi's amused giggles was enough to remove any shyness she could feel.

**_~Sleeping Flame~_**

She slept in the dark, dreaming of another place, one full of color, one where she could see those curious green eyes.

Some part of her was aware that she was alone and that knowledge caused pain to shot through her chest.

But she still dreamed with those green eyes, porcelain-like skin, hair so black that it almost shined with a tint of green, and that smile that caused her chest to swell.

_'Mato, I have decided,' Yomi said with gentle smile.-_

That was enough.

She knew she wasn't really alone anymore.

**_Naïve Heart~_**

Life had just been wonderful since she met Yomi...

Every morning she did her best to wake up as early as possible, and even if she wasn't on time Yomi never got mad at her. Yomi pretended to not notice, but Mato could always tell when Yomi lied about not having been waiting for her. They talked about little things during the train ride, and while it embarrassed her a little it also felt very nice when Yomi got to fix Mato's uniform. Yomi always told Mato to try and do her homework on time, but she never refused when Mato asked her to copy her homework; sure, it took some coaxing and some hugs and kisses, but Yomi never said no. They shared their lunch, and Mato always got Yomi to feed her a little of hers; Yomi always said the bento Mato's mom made was delicious, but Mato thought Yomi's bento was just the best.

Mato had tried to get Yomi to sign up for the basketball club with her, but Yomi had been unsure and didn't get in the club. Mato had been pretty down that week. She would be busy with the club while Yomi was elsewhere; Yomi had been nice enough to wait for Mato through the entire team practice, but Mato felt bad having Yomi wait alone for her.

One morning, while Mato was copying Yomi's homework, her friend whispered only loud enough for Mato to hear.

"Mato, I've decided," Yomi said with a gentle smile. "It's not basketball but something similar."

She hadn't understood at first, but that afternoon, she saw the volleyball's team, the neighbors the basketball's team shared the gym with, starting tryouts, and there was Yomi dressed in shorts and a short sleeved shirt. Mato had never seen Yomi practicing sports before so she couldn't help watching with a look of wonder and a smile of happiness as Yomi ran, jumped and hit the ball... until the captain knocked her upside the head and told her to stop gawking at the other girls.

They were inseparable, and she never wanted that to change.

"Hey, have you got a few minutes to spare?" Mato asked Yomi out of the blue one afternoon. She touched the little bag in her pocket and decided it was the right moment to share something with Yomi.

"I guess so."

"There's somewhere I want to take you," Mato told her and Yomi smiled her eyes shining with curiosity. "Okay?"

"Sure."

"Over this way! Come on!" and she started to run up the street.

"Mato, wait for me!"Yomi immediately gave chase, both girls giggling silly as Mato rushed at times, waited for Yomi, and then sprinted some more, like an overexcited puppy wanting to play with a kitty.

Mato hadn't taken Yomi around this part of the neighborhood before, so it was a joy seeing the wonder on Yomi's face as they passed by the little part with sakura trees. Yomi tried to ask her something, but Mato promised to explain once they were there. She rushed up the final stairs, three steps at the time and then turned around to see a slightly out of breath Yomi reaching the top.

"This is it, look!" Mato said, spinning with both arms spread wide apart. Yomi let out a gasp of surprise as she looked over the city, the sun at just the right angle painted the whole city golden and the mountains on the horizon framed the whole thing, making it look as if it were a little place away from the rest of the world. The little park of cherry trees surrounded the top of the hill on all sides a few dozens of meters below the guardrails, making it look as if they were even higher above the city. It wasn't the right time of the year so the sakura hadn't bloomed just yet. She was so going to bring Yomi later on, so they could have a picnic under the trees.

Mato took Yomi's hand as she approached the edge, giving it a little squeeze. "This is my favorite place."

Both girls leaned against the rail, letting the sun warm them up, and they just let a nice bit of comfortable silence hang over them. However, being still wasn't really Mato's strength.

She started to speak in a tentative voice that quickly gained strength. "When you look at the town from here, somehow it just makes you feel better!" She sighed, putting a hand over her chest. "And it's not just the view, I don't know how to explain it, but... You know?" she shrugged, a little embarrassed at her lack of words.

Yomi closed her eyes and sighed. "I understand," she said quietly, leaning a little against Mato... but she quickly pulled away. Mato looked up at Yomi, a question in her eyes. Yomi kept looking at the horizon. "You like this town, don't you Mato?" she whispered.

Confused Mato only managed to answer the first thing that came to her mind. This was really the only city she knew. Sure she had visited her grandparents out in the country, but she knew this city like the back of her hand. "Yes, I love it. I was born and raised here!" she told her proudly.

The silence stretched for longer than Mato was comfortable with, and she was starting to get worried about Yomi. "I've been moving around since I was born," Yomi finally said in a voice so quiet Mato almost didn't hear it.

The tomboy was many things, and as much as it ashamed her to admit it, being smart wasn't one of her better qualities. But the pain in Yomi's voice was so obvious, so heartbreaking... **'I will be forever right at your side,'**... that Mato understood immediately.

"Well, you should stay here from now on," Mato said in a tone that almost matched Yomi's. "I hate the idea of you leaving..." she admitted, feeling an almost forgotten pain again in her chest.

Yomi looked at her out the corner of her eye, and Mato felt her heart clenching painfully at that look. When those green eyes looked away from her, Mato almost felt like reaching out and hugging her friend. "Yes, I want to stay..." Yomi said as if she were trying to convince herself...

Mato quickly dug into her pocket, retrieving a little green chain. "Ah! Here Yomi, this is for you!" she said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Trying to make Yomi forget about those bad memories...

"Uh?" Yomi blinked cutely, bringing a real smile to Mato's face.

She let the chain hang from her fingers, leaving the green star visible at the bottom. "Isn't it cute? I bought it for you." She did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. _'She's not going to hate it. She's not going to hate it. She's not going to hate it...'_

Yomi slowly reached a hand forward, looking as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "C-can I have it?" she whispered, her eyes looking hopefully at Mato.

Mato felt her cheeks burning up and she started to babble. "Of course, I mean, look, ah your phone! Doesn't have any straps. I think it's lonely. See, I've got this one. I really like it!" she told her, raising her own cell phone to show a blue star hanging from a little chain.

Yomi took the little strap and held it between her hands, clutching it against her chest.

"Thanks!" Yomi said, her voice softening in a melancholic yet happy tone. "… I'll take good care of it..." she promised, closing her eyes and suddenly looking so unbearably sad and fragile to Mato's eyes.

**'Let me shelter you from that pain'**

She enveloped Yomi in a hug, getting a startled eep from the tall girl, and giving a little kiss to her cheek.

_'I'll be always at your side, Yomi. You won't be alone again,'_ she promised, not trusting her voice and hoping Yomi would understand what she was trying to say.

**_Sleeping Flame~_**

She slept in blissful peace, in a place that was no longer dark, no longer the nothingness she had struggled against. It was a world of colors where she walked next to her green eyed princess.

_'Don't worry, I just arrived too, Mato.'_

Mother and Hiro loved her very much too. They had welcomed Yomi in the house with open arms, just as Yomi's parents had accepted her.

_'Mato, you should try to finish your homework.' _

Her smile was just as gentle as she first remembered it. Every day, every time Yomi smiled at her made her want to keep on living.

_'Hahaha, please no more Mato, that tickles!'_

Every day she tried to make Yomi smile. The sight of her lips curling up in happiness made her chest throb in a good and strange pain.

_'I'm with Mato, mother.'_

She was no longer alone thanks to Yomi.

_'I would love to see a movie, Mato.'_

Yomi's happiness made her happy.

_'Yes, yes, I love you too Mato.'_

As long as Yomi was with her, she would never be alone again.

_'Hey, Mato.'_

She would do anything to keep Yomi at her side.

_Yomi slowly reached a hand forward, looking as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'C-can I have it?" she whispered, her eyes looking hopefully at Mato. _

She always intended for it belonged to Yomi.

_'Thanks!' Yomi said, her voice softening in a melancholic yet happy tone. '…I'll take good care of it...' she promised, closing her eyes and suddenly she looked so unbearably sad and fragile to Mato's eyes. _

She opened her eyes at the sudden pain that flashed through her. In that bleak and dark place little mattered. The only thing that existed in her mind was Yomi's suffering. She clutched her chest, digging her fingers painfully into her breast.

"Let me shelter you from that pain," she whispered fiercely, glaring into the Nothing.

She had been so confused before, but now she understood what she was meant to do. She didn't want to be alone again. She wouldn't let solitude hurt Yomi either.

**'I'll be always at your side, Yomi. You won't be alone again.'**

No matter what happened from then on, it was her duty to ensure that. She would protect Yomi. "I will be your Knight and you my Princess."

Yes that sounded right.

She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply. She was so tired...

_Honey colored eyes looked up at her and she couldn't help smiling, feeling as if she could almost fly. _'**Of course, Yuu, we are friends.'**

"Yuu...?"

**_Naïve Heart~_**

She stared blankly at the forms on the desk and sighed; they were so dang boring! Well, not really boring since they were needed for her entry to the national tournament -they had encouraged her to sign up even though she was still a first year-; they were going to send it away along with the rest of the team's forms that next weekend so they needed to be properly filled and filed as soon as possible.

She heard something bumping against the office's door and she immediately jump to her feet, all but vaulting towards the door to pull it open.

"Thanks, Mato-san, the door keeps jamming."

"No problem, Hyuuga-san," Mato said, reaching down to pick the bag with the basketballs but Hyuuga-san didn't budge. "Ah?"

The much smaller girl gave her a glare that Mato thought was immensely adorable. "It's Yuu!"

"Sorry, sorry Yuu-san," Mato replied in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head. Despite looking like an elementary school student -and she really loved acting the part most of the time-, Hyuuga Yuu was the most hardworking girl Mato had ever seen. Even more than Yomi! She used to think Yuu-san was her senior, but they were both in the same year and same age. Yuu-san would make all the paperwork for the team, even the part of the teachers. She always helped clean up the gym and pick up the equipment, and she was always the first one to arrive and the last to leave.

She could make Mato feel like a slacker at times.

Soon Mato and Yuu-san were all over the office, putting the balls in their place, putting away folders, sending some papers to print. After a while Yuu-san sat down giving some extra directions to Mato, so she could finish without problems.

Mato slumped in the chair next to Yuu-san and stretched out her legs with an overly dramatic sigh. "Well, that's that! Now we can go home!" she said, flashing a smile to the smaller girl.

Yuu-san jumped a little before she returned a smile back that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Y-yeah, you're done Miss Ace, but I still have some things to do."

"Eh? Can't you leave that for later? Or just let somebody else of the team do that tomorrow," Mato whined playfully, but Yuu-san simply shrugged a little.

"The rest of the team is always pretty busy, but they always help cleaning up our side of the gym," she told her easily but Mato wasn't that dense.

With a wince she realized she had never seen anybody of the team other than her helping Yuu-san, but she didn't think nobody else ever helped with the most "boring" parts of the club. She scratched the back of her head, looking for something to say when Yuu-san gave her another of these smiles that pained Mato to watch.

"Don't you have something to do? You always leave with that girl from the volleyball club. You wouldn't want to leave her waiting. She's a good friend of yours, isn't she?"

"Yeah, Yomi's my best friend," Mato immediately replied but she froze right away. She looked carefully at Yuu-san, who was trying her hardest to pretend she was actually reading a paper. "I can call Yomi and tell her I'm going to be a bit late helping with the club," she said slowly, wanting to test the waters.

There was a bit of silence before Yuu-san turned slowly around, looking at Mato as if she couldn't understand what she was seeing. "Huh?"

Mato stood up and walked behind Yuu's chair, looking down at the smaller girl. "We'll finish faster if we work together, right?" she flashed a toothy grin.

Yuu blinked a couple times before she quickly stood up, ushering a confused Mato out of the office. "None of that! That girl is probably already waiting for you, it wouldn't be fair for her," she said with an honest smile that made Mato smile even wider.

"Next time I can help you, okay?"

"Okay okay," Yuu said with a little chuckle.

Mato was about to step outside when she felt Yuu pulling her from the back of her shirt. "What's wrong?"

"We are f-friends, right?"

Honey colored eyes looked up at her and she couldn't help smiling, feeling as if she could almost fly. "Of course we're friends, Yuu."

"Thanks, Mato."

**_Awakening Flame-_**

Her rest was interrupted by a very odd feeling in her chest. She almost remembered feeling it before, but it seemed so far away now. It was a feeling she didn't like at all.

It made her want to reach out for her Princess and held her close, she knew Yomi was hurting but she wasn't su-

"**...there's nothing we can do about it..."**

"_Yes, there is nothing we can do about it." _

She opened her eyes in a flash and gasped for breath. She could feel a hollow in her breast and that horrible feeling made her eyes narrow dangerously. She tried to stand up but she quickly fell to her knees, remaining still for a long moment of sheer confusion.

She was incredibly weak, it was an exhaustion that held her down but she couldn't understand why. She had been in front of the school, checking the bulletin with... with... what had she been doing?

She rolled over on her back, staring at the ruined ceiling and ran a hand over her face, letting out a soundless yawn. Her memories were sluggish. She couldn't remember much but knew it was there. She could remember going to some important place, with somebody very important to her. It was an important day, but at the same time, it was also a painful memory.

She remained on the ground for a long time, a very long time. She wasn't sure how long she had been there but she finally stood up. She idly wondered where her clothes were but she really didn't care. Taking a deep breath she stood up and walked back to her bed; she took a moment to look outside the broken window next to her bed and stared at a dark sky. She could hear things moving outside but she didn't care enough to see what it was.

She sat back down on her bed and sighed.

"Where are you?" the image of green eyes kept flashing through her mind, filling her with a good feeling.

**_~A New Heart~_**

Mato made her way towards her new seat in silence, still too down to chat with her new classmates. Somebody had decided to rearrange the groups meaning that Yomi and she had been put in different classes. They could still meet during breaks and during their clubs' practices, but it wasn't the same. No matter how much it angered her or how much it depressed Yomi, there was nothing they could do about it other than just accept it wouldn't be the same than last year.

"Mato!"

She looked up to see Yuu all but running to her side wearing an impish grin on her face. "Yuu? What's up? What you doing here?"

"We're going to be classmates this year!"

"Ah, really?" Mato jumped off her seat, enveloping the smaller girl in a hug that lifted her off the ground. "That's so cool! I thought this year was going to suck."

"Uh? Takanashi-san isn't here?" Yuu said, looking around for the regal girl.

"She's next door," Mato replied, letting Yuu go.

"Aww, I wanted to properly meet her."

"I can introduce you during break, Super Team Manager!"

"I'd like that, Miss Ace!"

Maybe something good had come out of this after all. Now she just had to do her best to stay close to Yomi this year, starting as soon as the classes stopped!

**_~Awakened Flame~_**

Mato spared an indifferent glance at the blue flames dancing around her hand before she closed her eyes. She didn't need to look to know that once the flames pulled back into her flesh they would be replaced by black leather in the shape of a glove. She wasn't sure why these blue flames did what they did, but she didn't care to find out why. She had been busy with another revelation that she was abusing at the moment.

It was all but a little matter of willing it, and she could see her green eyed Princess whenever she wished to. Well, most of the time. Lately it had been harder and harder to find a moment when she could see her, instead seeing more of that colorful world or from little Yuu. Yuu's presence was just as enjoyable as Yomi's but different, so she was still happy knowing she had a new friend at her side.

Yet, one day she could see her Princess in a mood that made Mato want to reach out for her again. For some reason Yomi said nothing was wrong, but Mato could tell that Yomi was masking her feelings, her hurt, though she didn't know why.

That wasn't the only wrong thing about Yomi lately. Mato had managed to catch glimpses out of the corner of her eyes of that darkness that seemed to follow Yomi around. It was subtle most of the time, but then there were times when it seemed as if Yomi was covered in a second skin of darkness. Yomi still didn't tell. Even when the pain was drowning her she still didn't admit anything.

Mato felt a little hurt that Yomi didn't trust her enough to confide on what was happening to her; however, it would hurt more if she was the cause of Yomi's pain.

So she remained silent, even when Yomi looked away in pain, even when it seemed Yomi was trying to stay away from her.

Even when she felt something in her chest being torn apart, she just waited to see if Yomi would confide in her.

**_Hesitant Heart~_**

"What's wrong Mato?" Yuu asked from her place on top of Mato's seat.

The tomboy looked back at Yuu and flashed a tiny smile, "N-nothing," she replied, looking at the classroom's door. "It's nothing."

But she wasn't sure if it was nothing or not.

Lately she had been feeling this... this weight around her, something that made her want to warm up her body as soon as possible, but she couldn't tell what exactly it was. She realized it happened most often when she was near Yomi and, as crazy as it sounded, she could sometimes see something following Yomi around.

More like somebody, actually.

A girl... a girl with horns and wings that seemed to follow Yomi around.

She had kept quiet since, well, it was too crazy, and she was the only one who had noticed anything going on. Not even Yomi seemed to notice when that dark girl was around.

But, if that other girl had been standing at the classroom's door that meant Yomi should have been there too, right? But if she was, then why hadn't she said hello?

It was too confusing... and it probably was nothing.

**_Lonely Flame~_**

**...Call me as soon as you finish school... Takanashi... Police... Missing...**

Her eyes snapped open and she scrawled to her feet.

"_The detectives in charge of Yomi's disappearance are waiting for you," mom said, but Mato was still in denial, refusing to believe any of this was real. _

"No..."

"_Yomi left for school in the morning, and didn't come back..." Mato just sat there, listening as they continued. "... seems she left school in the early evening..." she had been waiting instead of looking for Yomi. "... we don't know if she may have gotten involved in some incident..." She should have gone looking out for her when Yomi didn't answer the phone. "Or if leaving home was in fact her intention..."_

"No way..."

"**Yomi wouldn't run away from home," **_she replied quietly, looking at the table in front of her, clutching her skirt tightly to keep herself from shouting at them that they didn't know her, that Yomi had no reason to do that._

"Yomi is happy here! She would never leave!"

_But she was scared. _

She would never leave me!

"_But just in case. We know that you're Yomi's closest friend, can you think of anything that could give us any clue?" The police kept asking questions, but she wasn't paying attention, and it wasn't until mom nudged that she responded. _

"She said... she liked it here with me..."

_She was just going on auto pilot now, telling them how they hadn't talked to each other in the train, about the volleyball's captain telling her Yomi had already left without her, about the mails Yomi didn't answer... _

"No... I need you..."

_They kept asking her questions but she could only shake her head no over and over as she brushed tears away. Tears that just wouldn't stop. _

**'I'm sorry Yomi, I'm sorry... I couldn't protect you, Yomi...'**

She curled on the ground, her forehead pressing against the cold floor, and she heaved but there was nothing in her stomach to throw up. She felt as if somebody had reached into her chest and tore her heart out. The emotion was terrible, she wanted it to end!

"Yomi..."

She wanted her.

"**Yomi..."**

She needed her.

"I'm sorry Yomi..."

She didn't want to be alone.

"**I'm sorry Yomi..."**

She sat up against her bed, her face resting against the mattress as tears ran down her face and into her mouth, and she sobbed until she couldn't cry anymore.

**_Lost Heart~_**

"Mato?"

She didn't reply.

"Hey, Mato...?"

She didn't even turn around to look at Hiro.

"Mato... mom says dinner is ready... do you want to eat, sis?"

She just shook her head.

"Sis... the police are going to find Yomi... I-I know they will bring Yomi-neechan back, and then everything will be okay, right?"

Mato didn't say anything.

"... g'night, sis."

The door closed with a click and Mato curled in a tight ball, silent tears running down her face.

"I'm so useless...," she whispered, clenching her hands into fists and grinding her teeth... and then her whole body fell limp. "I'm sorry... Yomi, where are you?" she whispered, feeling the weight of how hopeless everything was. Her fruitless efforts to try and help find Yomi seemed like a waste of time.

She and Yuu had stayed in the school looking for clues until Yuu parents came looking for the two of them. She had gone looking around the neighborhood but she found nothing, and Mom had made her promise to immediately come back home after school and no longer leave the house after coming back or Hiro alone again in the house. She had tried asking everybody in the neighborhood about anything they could know, but she had come up empty again.

As if things couldn't get worse, it hadn't been even two days since Yomi had gone missing and the girls at school were spreading all kind of stupid rumors... "**Shut up," **_she growled in a whisper_... they had no right to say those things about Yomi, but... there was nothing... "**No!"** … nothing she could do about it other than clench her fists and pretend she hadn't heard them.

If Yuu hadn't been there for her, Mato didn't know what she would have done. She had wanted to just break down and cry, but Yuu told her to keep her spirits up because Yomi would come back soon and all this worry would be for nothing, otherwise everybody else would get depressed too. She had to be strong for everybody else's sake.

She could at least do that much for Yuu...

She wasn't good for anything else...

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she wished, how much she hoped...

"**No, I c-can't give up! If I try hard enough, nothing is impossible! Nothing!"**

"I'm worthless..."

**_~Flame~_**

Mato closed her eyes, trying to keep these horrible emotions away, but they kept coming stronger and stronger.

She stood outside in the ruined city, hoping the cold wind would help her cool down her head, but the feelings kept coming, giving her a worst headache. The pain caused by Yomi's absence was already bad enough; she didn't have room for... "**I'm worthless"**... these feelings clouding her mind when Yomi was out there, needing her.

Just as much as Mato needed her.

She walked over roads with checkered patterns, broken and burned bridges and under chains rising to the sky. She took a deep breath before shrugging on her coat. She was finally able to get her body to move as she wished to. There was no longer anything holding her down, nothing keeping her from going.

She stumbled, falling to her knees at the sudden feeling in her abdomen. She blinked many times, seeing an image superposed over the world for a few moments before the sensation in her center intensified noticeably. She looked around for a moment, swallowing thickly. It was a familiar feeling, but so alien at the same time.

She could feel it - something that weighed down on her with a drowning grief and utter loneliness, something that made warmth flare within her chest in response to that pain.

She slowly stepped down the street and looked around with nervous eyes.

"Yomi."

**_~Awakening Heart~_**

She wearily opened her eyes, noticing the sun was barely raising and that she had slept on her clothes. Again. She ran a hand over her chest, idly wondering why she felt so warm all of sudden, but after a moment she ignored the sensation. She sighed deeply and tried to turn off her cell phone's alarm before realizing it wasn't the alarm but an incoming call. Her heart jumped up to her throat and she quickly sat up.

"Yomi?" she gasped, unfolding the phone and seeing a blank message from her Yomi. She stared at the screen in confusion for a moment before she dialed up her phone but nobody picked up.

"What... what's going on?" she was at a loss of what to do before she felt an almost painful tug in her chest, jerking her away from her confusion. She looked out of the window, the sun barely illuminated the sky, feeling that warmth in her chest growing stronger and a single thought crossed her mind.

**'Yomi.'**

_'I can find you.'_

**_~Flame~_**

She floated in place for a moment, turning here and that way trying to find that sensation again. It had been almost overshadowed by another feeling in her chest, almost as if she had been jerked away from her place, almost as if the entire world had been shoved sideways, but she was sure she could find her. The jerking sensation made the warmth in her flare, burning like a flame within, making her feel...

She only needed to focus harder...

"**Yomi's place!"**

She turned sharply around, looking up towards their Hill, beyond the glowing trees of Sakura.

**_~Heart~_**

Mom was right behind her, asking her something but Mato couldn't stop, not now!

"Where are you going?"

"Yomi!" she shouted, feeling something in her stomach twisting. The sensation was quickly building up, turning from a little warmth into an almost burning sensation, telling her she could still feel Yomi nearby.

"Mato?"

"Yomi's place!" Yes, she was there!

She ran out of the house and grabbed her bike, racing down the empty streets.

**_~Flame~_**

Her body groaned in pain but she didn't stop. There were creatures following her close by but she didn't stop.

The flame kept on fueling her steps, forcing her closer to her destination.

She was so close, she could find her again!

She flew past the pink forest until the top of the hill was on sight. She touched ground and ran up the stairs to see the lookout point-.

**_~Heart~_**

- and she fell to her knees.

Her lungs were burning, her feet felt like lead, and she was gasping for precious breath. Her vision blurred a little and she used her arm to wipe sweat of her face, for a moment closing her eyes, unable to accept what she was seeing.

She was alone.

**_~Flame~_**

She was sure... she couldn't understand...

In a daze she walked towards the railing, not noticing where she was going; only knowing the flame started to burn stronger and brighter... She was supposed to be there.

**_~Heart~_**

She noticed something on the grass and she almost tripped on her feet trying to get to it. Her hands started to tremble at the sight of the innocent little green chain and matching star... It was the same she had given Yomi so many months ago... the one Yomi had promised to take good care of it...

_'No... no! This-this means Yomi is nearby! She called me! She left this behind so I knew!' _

But... how was she going to find her? There was a glimmer of hope but... what could she do?

She held the charm between her hands in prayer and closed her eyes. "Yomi..." she whispered. "Where are you?" she asked, begging for guidance to anybody who could hear her. Begging for the strength to keep on going and find her dearest person.

Fire and Light came to life between her hands.

**_~Flame~_**

She spun around, feeling again as if the world was being ripped apart, the burning flame roaring within her, and she saw a star.

**_~Heart~_**

She opened her eyes, letting out a tiny gasp of surprise. She blinked a couple times, not really understanding what was happening as the light '_grew'_ like a globe in her hands until it was too big to hold and she had to open her hands. The sphere of light burst free and ribbons of color flowed like fire from her hands, flames bluer than the sky and light whiter than the stars, quickly enveloping her in a ball of blue fire that miraculously didn't burn her.

The world started to become bright and she looked up, seeing a lonely star in the sky. The clouds and the sky itself seemed to be ripped apart as the star became brighter with each tinkle.

The light was so intense, so warm that Mato had to close her eyes, holding the little green star tighter against her chest.

Then the world was torn apart.

**_~Flame~_**

Mato blinked the stars away from the sudden white glare. That had been unpleasant.

Once she regained her sight she looked around and stopped for a moment.

The world was gone.

There were no pink glowing sakura trees, no dark and ruined city, no decayed and dead sky, no sick moon, no checkered patterns, and no black chains. Only the bluest sky with a white mist shrouding everything around her and little white stars peeking through the clouds.

"What..." Somebody else was here! "... What is this place?"

She flew up, trying to find that person but she only saw a little glow, even brighter than the rest of the stars, and she rushed in that direction. The soft sound of steps reached her ears before she could see the person who... it was a young girl...

Black hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and eyes of a deep blue, clad with a simple denim skirt, white shirt with a blue star on the front and a hooded jacket of dark colors, holding that glow close to her chest...

Mato looked at the other girl... and she knew.

She knew her, those eyes... those eyes that she had seen in every reflection since she had been born. Not her eyes, but Mato's eyes...

That girl was Mato... _Mato_ looked... she looked down to her gloved hands as a terrible thought crossed her mind. 'Who am I then?'

However, before she could dwell in that question she realized something else. She could feel anger rising inside her chest. _She_ hadn't been the one who failed to keep Yomi safe...

But, she could tell, the flame in her chest flared stronger with each step Mato took in her direction and she could feel it, the same regret and pain that had tortured her for the last couple days was hurting Mato too. Mato, the real Mato wanted their Princess back too...

She floated closer to Mato and took a deep breath.

"Do you want to save her?" she asked.

Mato startled, and the not Mato waited until the real Mato looked up and their eyes met.

**_~Heart~_**

Mato felt a little dizzy as she looked up. The warmth in her chest was almost painfully hot now, beating harder and harder as she stared at the floating girl in front of her. Black top, black shorts, black boots, black hooded jacket, black gloves, she was dressed in so much black and that only made her incredibly pale skin look almost white in contrast. Huh, she never thought she would care about those things when there was a girl floating in mid air!

Of course, having light and fire burst out of her chest and hands had been all kind of crazy, so why not?

"What?" she managed to said, in an almost too quiet whisper.

**_~Burning Blue Flame~_**

"She's someone you care about."

It was hard to admit, but she realized it now. She had never been the one to hold Yomi's hand... she had never embraced Yomi in her times of need... she had never been close to Yomi at all.

"You're someone she cares about..."

She could feel her flame burning hotter as Mato realized who she was talking about. "You mean Yomi? Yomi, where is she?"

She didn't know.

"Save her? … No!"

What...?

Mato's anger and sadness started to burn with a blue flame, flaring around her body like a bonfire, growing with each word she spoke with sadness and determination.

"I just want to walk with Yomi again!"

"I want to laugh with her again!

"**I want to see Yomi again. Right. Now!" **her desperation and determination burned bright like the sun... and it made something within the not real girl's chest burn brighter still.

Just like Mato's eyes...

"I see..." and she did.

Their purpose, their desire was the same.

She floated closer to the girl and the blue flames danced around their bodies as they came closer, embracing them in a warmth that was no longer burning but comfortable. Safe. She felt something in her chest, the pain was still there but now something new burned along with it, trying to reach out for Mato.

A fierce and innocent Hope.

"Who... who are you?" Mato whispered breathlessly, fighting to keep her eyes open.

_'Who am I?'_

"I am..."

She... she didn't know. Did she even have a name? She... she always thought she was Mato...

"I am..."

The warmth in her chest was burning incredibly hot now, so hot it was consuming her fears, confusion and sorrow away. Mato's own warmth was rivaling the black clad girl's own, both beating as a single heart. She closed her eyes, feeling something within her bursting free.

"I am... _**Black Rock Shooter.**_"

And they became one.

**_~Little Heart~_**

"_Keep going in that direction, Rock," _Mato indicated, or at least tried to. Black Rock Shooter didn't have problems following the instructions, though, and she simply nodded minutely. "_You don't mind if I just call you Rock?"_

The girl started to walk but stopped for a moment, looking ahead. "I like Rock," she said and Mato felt herself smiling.

Their destiny was ahead of them.

_**~Final~**_

_Wait for me, Yomi. I'll be at your side soon!_

_**-CONTINUARA-**_

AN:

Originally the first chapter was a little thing, just mentioning most of Real World's canon events in passing before jumping to the end. While that was perfect for people who knew already know the OVA went, for the rest of the people it was harder to follow and it didn't really set the grounds for why Mato was willing to go into another world for Yomi.

I will also be messing around with the other BRS canons, so you may find some special surprises along the road.

I will be updating my profile from time to time with proper dates and all so if you want to stop by and look for updates, well there they are. You are free to send me PM's and the anons, well I think anonymous reviews are okay as long as you people don't get too spamy.

Anyway, thanks for all the support you people have given me so far, I hope I keep up doing right and if I miss, then tell me. Input is always useful and appreciated.


	2. The Black Queen

Ok, I think a warning is needed here. The story will include girls love, yuri, shoujo-ai, lesbians if you will. No, it won't be a RIGHT ON YOUR FACE type of thing, but it will be present for at least a couple of characters. Fair warning for those who dislike such; for those who don't mind, don't worry, there will be nothing explicit and certainly nothing mature rated beyond the fight scenes.

Also, since this is the Ova-verse, you can be sure at least four girls will appear. You can imagine who.

Also2, do remember that the opening scene of the OVA ended with Black Gold Saw skewering Black Rock, with VERY clear amounts of blood and gore flying out of Rock's body. I'll keep the strongest violence around those levels at their strongest points but ONLY for the fight scenes.

Hope you enjoy my interpretation of Dead Master and Black Rock's fight.

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 2**

_**The Black Queen**_

It wasn't the largest among the other cathedrals, nor the most luxuriously decorated, but this was the one. They forced the huge wooden doors open and made their way down halls with checkered floors, passing by beautiful glass windows, knocked down pews, and large crosses until they reached a set of large black iron doors. They stood in front of the barrier, looking up at the seemingly innocent-looking doors and tried to push them open.

Sadness, betrayal and hopelessness, so many feelings in their minds, just give up and it will end... They shook their head harshly, making their long hair wave whip around and then soldiered forward. Those weren't their feelings, they wouldn't hold them down. The metal groaned with a ghastly sound and they made their way into a great hall, seeing more checkered floors and walls, and columns in different states of decay covering almost every surface, but the giant stained glass miraculously remained untouched, able to show beautiful and sorrowful images.

At the end of the hall, atop a throne of black steel and velvet, sat a girl with metallic horns growing out of her hair and a pair of bone wings sprouting out of her back. A giant scythe rested on her metallic claws, perfectly at ease despite its size and wicked edge. Wavy black hair cascaded down to her shoulders, seamlessly blending with the black of her lovely dress, with a white ribbon and a skull pin on their hip to finish her beautiful looks.

Bored eyes of an acid green color stared them down. Complex and glowing pupils seemed to shine brighter with a candle-like light for a moment when she noticed their presence but she didn't acknowledged them beyond that.

Like silent guardians, two giant skulls made out of black metal floated around the throne, a neon green light pouring out of the eye-sockets and their maws.

"_Is... Yomi...sh-she's Yomi!" _Mato gasped, looking up at what could be Yomi in a couple years. The same regal stance, the same fine and lovely looks, in a body that no middle-school girl could have.

"She is not... is she..." Shooter whispered and closed her eyes.

She may look different now, but that didn't mean she wasn't her Princess. She stepped forward and reached out an outstretched hand towards the Black Queen of this domain.

The other girl simply lifted a sardonic eyebrow and did nothing more.

"Come on... let's go home, together," Rock said in a growl of a whisper.

The winged girl looked down for a moment. "I... I am not going back," Yomi replied in a lofty tone.

"Please..."

"I have nowhere to go back to," Yomi said in a harsh voice, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Nowhere I belong to."

"You can belong with us..."

"I tried... I tried so hard but you... no, no more pain... **No. More!**" she lashed out with her scythe and the skulls rushed forward!

Rock managed to dodge the first one but the second... she groaned, picking herself out of the crater caused by the impact of her body being pounded into the ground. She could hear Mato whimpering in pain in the back of her mind, but right now she couldn't deal with her, Mato would have to endure.

Yomi stood atop her throne, staring down at Shooter with a stony look.

"Will you accept my feelings? My desire?" she purred. "Will you?"

Something within Rock stirred at that voice. It made her chest swell and an "_eagerness_" rushed through her veins. It was something animalistic, something basic that called out for Rock to answer Yomi's request.

A blue flame flared out of Rock's left eye and the dark Yomi smiled pleasantly.

Black steel shrieked, blue flames roared, sparks licked their skin, and Rock knew she _**wanted**_ this not-Yomi. She desired her in a way she couldn't desire Yomi. The feeling rushing through her veins made her want to pin this dark Yomi to the ground, keep her close and- and... what then?

Wanting Yomi in this way felt... twisted. Not right. But not this dark Yomi... this Queen... she could take everything and give just as much...

Spear tipped chains with barbed and bladed links, black scythe and metallic skulls flew through the air in a dizzying dance that promised death with Yomi's lithe body waltzing in the middle of the whirlwind of death, moving with a majestic precision in Rock's direction. But Rock never backed down, she faced everything head on no matter how many times she was knocked down and slashed open, she kept launching herself into the middle of it all to be closer to her Queen.

This dark Yomi noticed and smiled. She smiled in a way Yomi would never smile. A simple gesture that made Mato gasp out and flinch away, deeper into Rock's mind.

It was twisted, cruel, sadistic, promising only pain.

It almost made Rock's heart beat hard enough to burst out of her chest.

She raised her cannon against the dark Yomi and Mato screamed, begging Rock to stop, but the other girl ignored her. With a simple twitch of her fingers she opened fire, firing hundreds of energy encased bullets in Yomi's direction. Rock could see the winged girl smiling widely and then outrun the incoming attack, and she jumped, bounced, cartwheeled around the bullets, letting the projectiles destroy the ground, walls and everything around her. Rock even forced the bullets to change their path in mid flight, but that wasn't enough to even graze Yomi. She ran until she was forced against a wall and then she just stood there, her smile growing an inch wider facing the approaching bullet hell.

The side of the cathedral started to crumble, giant bullet holes -big enough to drive a bus through- weakened the structure enough to collapse on its own weight. Dust clouds raised all over the place as debris started to rain down, making it impossible to see anything two steps away.

Mato was screaming, begging Rock to stop, to not hurt Yomi, but the other girl ignored her. She knew there was nothing to worry about, after all Rock could feel Yomi's excitement...

The two black skulls floated around her, hissing a guttural sound and then there were the sound of steps. Light, deliberate and confident, she walked out of the dust clouds seemingly without a care, lazily twirling her scythe with a single hand as if it were weightless. The boring look Yomi gave them clearly said: "Is that all?"

Rock simply lifted her cannon again, ready to keep on firing, but Yomi didn't give them time to even get started. She swung her scythe and Rock and Mato had but a blink to see the dust parting and the ground, walls and ceiling warping outwards before they felt a crushing force trying to tear them apart. They endured, Mato doing everything she could to not scream in agony while Rock kept their body in a single piece but the place wasn't as resilient. The floors fractured and cracked open at their feet, making them plummet to the darkness below.

They dodged the falling stone blocks and righted themselves, preparing to fly up again when they noticed Yomi already dropping on them. Yomi quickly overpowered Rock and forced her to the ground like a black missile, but the blue eyed girl recovered immediately and opened fire at the approaching black skulls. Even when she landed gently on her feet she kept on firing, the roar of the cannon deafening every other sound but those skulls simply shrugged off the bullet hell; it was too late to dodge and the skulls once again flattened Rock's body against the ground, causing the underground passage to groan and shake with the impact.

Stubbornly she got up and aimed her cannon at the returning skulls but even Mato was telling her to change tactics by now. _"We still have that sword, right?"_

Rock seriously doubted that frail looking sword would do them any good... but...

"_It changed before, why not again?" _Mato pointed out and Rock blinked. _"Like a hero's weapon in anime or something." _

"How?" Rock muttered, charging up a bullet with as much of their blue fire as possible, even though it wouldn't do them any good.

"_... There, there is something burning inside us..." _

Rock blinked. She knew which something Mato meant, the same flame that had given them the body they now occupied, the one that had flared when that black blade first showed up. The blue fire that had been gathering around the bullet was violently released, flooding the cannon with the otherworldly energy, changing the cannon into a giant and warped blade, just as big as their previous weapon was.

The skulls were already upon them but this time Shooter charged right back at them, letting the blue fire burn through their arm and into the black blade. Two swift slashes and the skulls were cut in half, their remains breaking and burning into blue and white cinders in an instant.

They heard a metallic jingle and looked up. The whole place looked like gigantic catacombs, with several chains of titanic sizes tied to the walls, floors and ceiling. Yomi was standing on top of one of these chains, looking down at them with an odd expression on her face. The twisted smile that made Rock's heart flutter was gone, replaced by a look that didn't suit her at all.

"Enough?" Rock asked, looking up at the Queen of the domain.

"I thought... I thought I had done enough... but I could never reach you, didn't I, Mato? I could never be at your side," Yomi asked, much to Mato's and Rock's surprise. They _knew_, they thought... they had always been together with Yomi, hadn't they? Even when there was other world keeping them apart, they had been together.

Right?

"Yomi...?"

The winged girl jumped off the chain, soaring above Rock to reach a side corridor and escape. Rock and Mato immediately gave chase, determined to get their Princess and Queen back.

They kept on battling, trading blows that could have torn the other apart if the area they were fighting in was any indication. Deep gouges running over the every surface, warped corridors that tried to expand outwards, chains bursting through the concrete and mortar as if the world were made out of sheets of paper.

Mato was trying to keep her mind from blanking out despite being terrified out of her mind, stubbornly determined to be there for Rock and Yomi. Rock for her part was doing everything she could to keep up with Yomi's sudden frantic and almost uncanny battle skills. Yomi called forth ton upon ton worth of black chains in a final attempt to keep Rock and Mato away, but the blue eyed girls never stopped pushing forward. They would never stop trying to get their Princess and Queen back, breaking every chain that tried to hold them back.

The battle took them deeper and deeper into the catacombs, until they finally reached a large chamber with a pillar made of weapons, twisted metal and many more. All pilled together in a mockery of a monument, bound to the chamber by black chains and on top of it all, Yomi stood tall, a Queen above everything in the domain, ready to keep on fighting.

Several spear-tipped chains shot down at Rock, punching through the stone with ease. The long haired girl managed to dodge but only had a moment to recover before Yomi ran down the length of chain, spinning her scythe with the intent of decapitating Rock.

Rock looked at the taller girl and for a moment tried to convey her desire for her, causing Yomi to stagger back for an all too brief moment, before the fight started again. Far more brutal for their shared amusement and Mato's mounting terror.

After a particularly vicious exchange of blows, Rock put some distance between them but Yomi immediately gave chase. Seeing the green eyed girl closing in, Rock morphed the black blade back into the black cannon and opened fire, knowing once again it would be useless as Yomi started to dance around the giant blue shots. The winged girl gave her a mocking grin before jumping high to the chains running over the hall and Rock trained her sights on her. She knew she wouldn't hit Yomi, she didn't want to, but at least could deny her the advantage of the chains, blasting them to bits.

That was when Yomi came back down after her and the world slowed down.

Yomi swung the blade down after Rock's head, the black scythe barely missed her. The blade buried itself deep into the ground, but using her momentum, Yomi threw her body forward, spinning forward to dislodge the scythe, and in the process bring it down once again at Rock, all in a single movement that lasted less than a heartbeat. The shorter girl deflected the blow using the black cannon, somehow managing to remain unscathed but Yomi immediately spun low, lashing out her leg.

Rock had a moment to blink as their legs were kicked off from under them. She could hear the sound of the black scythe slicing the air and she looked up at Yomi. An excited smile grew on the green eyed girl's face as she brought down the scythe one final time, intending to cut Rock apart.

"_Stop!"_

A bang and then a clank caused the three girls to stop and stare.

Mato had taken control for just a moment and fired, somehow managing to blow the blade on Yomi's scythe clean off. The three stared at the melted off part on top of the ruined weapon and blinked.

Yomi tossed the scrapped weapon away as if it were so much trash and then licked slowly... loudly... shamelessly her clawed finger, staring intently into Rock's blue eyes.

Rock felt her mouth going dry.

The green eyed girl jumped high and Rock and Mato had only a moment of rest before chains grew out of Yomi's back, instantly coming to life and going after Rock, punching through the concrete with monstrous strength before coming to life and moving like living creatures. Rock did everything she could to dodge, following Mato's frantic directions whenever an attack tried to sneak up on them.

A flash of green made Rock dodge blindly, barely managing to toss their head to the side and just getting a glancing blow to their temple instead of getting their head punched off by Yomi. Mato shouted a warning but Rock couldn't keep up! She could see Yomi sneaking through the living chains, dodging under Rock's wild swept with their cannon and then the wind was knocked out of their lungs as Yomi kicked them off the ground.

Dozens of living chains fell on them from every direction, coiling around their arms and legs, their torso and their neck and then started to crush them! Mato couldn't handle the torture and blacked out almost immediately, leaving Rock to try to break free, but any chain she managed to break was just as quickly replaced by three more, squeezing their body, trying to grind their bones to a fine dust!

The tightening chain around her neck was causing black spots to dance in front of Rock's eyes and she barely noticed Yomi walking closer, chuckling to herself and then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Mato blinked.<p>

Her body felt numb all over, everything was tingling and aching and she wanted to move but anything she did made her body scream don't move! She thought dropping on her back from the basketball's hoop had hurt, man she had no idea!

She tried to rise a hand to block that white light that was drilling into her skull but that only made things worst.

Mainly because instead of an arm what rose was a "bunch" of more light and fire...

She tried to scream and put off the flames of her arm but nothing came out of her mouth other than a sound that wasn't a sound, a sound that reminded her of her guitar, and her arm... just made the light and flames move around.

"_This, no, nono! I'm not burning!"_

The flames and light suddenly snuffed leaving in their place flesh and bone... and bruises and cuts and scrapes and injuries all over!

"Ugh!" Mato curled in herself, clutching her stomach and pulling her knees to her chest. "Wh-what happened?" she gasped, feeling vile rushing up her throat. She tried to look at herself but the tears blurred her vision and they just didn't stop coming out!

Everything _**burned! **_Every single movement made everything hurt!

She gasped for breath between sobs of agony, not understanding why everything hurt so much and what was this place and why was she floating on nothing and why was she... naked?

That was enough to derail her train of thought and she forgot the pain for a moment. The lack of witnesses eased her embarrassment but did little to explain what was going on here. The last thing she remembered was Yomi about to...

"Yomi!" she gasped, uncurling her body and wildly looking around.

She had found her, she had found her Yomi! In that strange cathedral and Yomi... Yomi had been trying to kill her... no, Yomi had been trying to kill them both and Rock liked to fight way too much. Like in a scary creepy way.

Mato covered her face with both hands, letting out a pained sigh. Teaming up with Black Rock had been such a good idea at first, the whole being two in single body had been odd at first but they just hit it off well without problems. But the taller girl kept getting distracted with the oddest things and Rock wanted to keep on fighting and fighting with Yomi for some reason. If Mato didn't know Rock wanted Yomi back with them she would have been worried.

Only... Yomi didn't want to go back. She had said she didn't want to be hurt again, hadn't she?

Somebody had... hurt... hurt Yomi... Mato clenched her fists without realizing it, bitting her lip so hard it started to bleed. Somebody had hurt Yomi and Mato was going to make sure that person paid for it!

… Well, if she managed to get out of this place anyway.

She looked around but couldn't find anything that could tell her where she was. It was all white and blue, and there were a few stars in the fog-like whiteness but beyond that, nothing... except for a little touch of green. Blinking, she focused on her left hand, finally noticing a little something.

Around her left wrist was a little green star attached to a little chain... Yomi's cellphone strap... the same one Mato had given her, man, it felt like so long ago. Back in her world, Mato had received a missed phone call from Yomi and somehow she just knew she had to look for her right then, else she would never find Yomi. She had gone to their special place but instead of Yomi, she had only found the little strap. It had let her know Yomi needed help, but she never thought it would be this kind of help...

A new pillar of flames came to life in front of Mato and she shielded her eyes with her arm... but she lowered it pretty soon noticing something weird. The fire wasn't even hot...

"What the hell?" she muttered and the "fire" snapped in her direction.

"Mato?"

The short haired girl recognized that voice, so new and so nostalgic at the same time. "Rock?"

It was so weird watching a girl made out of light and fire "nodding". Rock must have noticed she was on fire too because she started to "look" down to her "hands" and "body".

"Don't worry, you're not really burning," Mato reassured her and the flames disappeared.

Rock "stood" stiff like a board for a moment and then sort of... _twitched. _"O-ow..." Mato winced in sympathetic pain; she totally forgot she hadn't felt pain while she was a flame.

"Sorry," she floated next to Rock and rubbed circles on the other girl's back. She hadn't really noticed before, but Rock was _tall, _at least a head taller than Mato, and had long, long hair... and she was very hurt too, just as hurt as Mato, except for that _big_ scar on her hip, running all the way around her leg. It almost looked as if it had been cut and then brutally sewn together. "Any idea where we are?"

"... Here," Rock said. Mato waited and waited some more.

"...And?"

"Here we are."

"... and where is here?"

"I have no way of knowing, Mato, you are the one who was here before I arrived," Rock said in such matter-of-factly tone that the shorter girl simply shut up her mouth. She knew Rock wasn't trying to insult her, but Mato really wasn't used to a person of such few words.

"We still need to find a way to get out of here, though," Mato muttered, looking around and trying not to focus on all the wounds covering Rock's body. "Yomi is out there and I have to get her back."

"Yomi..."

"Somebody hurt her," Mato muttered to herself and she started a little at the sound of Rock's knuckles making cracking sounds. "Yeah, I'm gonna find whoever hurt her and they are going to be sorry."

"Yomi..."

"Hmm?"

"Yomi was hurt... in your world," Rock said simply, looking away.

Mato recoiled as if Rock had struck her on the face and she swallowed thickly. She... she knew what Rock was trying to say and... it hurt... because she knew Rock was right. There was no way she could deny it. Mato had promised to protect Yomi, to always be there for her and she... she...

"I fought...," Rock whispered and Mato turned away.

She couldn't face the other girl now, feeling like the lowest. She hadn't really done anything to help get Yomi back... She had only caused problems and acted like an idiot in front of the only person who could help her. The only person who had really tried to help Yomi. Rock... Rock had every right to be angry at Mato, right? She had every right to blame her for doing nothing at all...

"_I failed."_

Mato whirled around and stared in disbelief at the tall girl. Mato was extremely upset with herself but it was _nothing_ compared to the sheer _hate_ in Rock's voice at her own failure.

"Ro-Rock?" Mato tried to get the other girl's attention and then gently took her by the shoulders when that failed. "Hey, hey Rock, no you, ah, crap, don't say that..." she finished lamely. What could she say to cheer up her only ally here?

"I... failed..."

"Rock... you... yeah, you screwed up," Mato said bluntly and Rock looked up. Mato had to fight down the urge to take back her words at seeing the look in Rock's eyes. She remembered how emotionless yet so incredibly strong Rock's eyes were, so unlike the naked pain she was showing now. "Yes, fighting Yomi didn't solve anything."

"Yes..." Rock tried to look down but Mato forced her to keep the eye contact.

"Fighting her doesn't work, so we have to find a new way to do this, right? Look!" she raised her left hand, showing Rock the little cellphone strap. "Yomi left this where I could find it. She was asking for our help, she wants to be saved!"

Yeah, Mato was sure of it! They just had to find-.

"A new way," Rock muttered, nodding slowly. The taller girl looked intently at Mato and the smaller girl did her best to not fidget when she noticed Rock's pupils glowed, just like Yomi's had done in the cathedral. "Giving up-."

"-won't solve anything, so we just have to keep on trying, no matter how many times it takes! Yomi needs us so we can't stay here moping around! We will find a way to save Yomi and we will take her back home!"

Mato looked into Rock's eyes, finding now comfort in that glow that reminded her so much of a flame.

"Never give up."

She smiled, feeling that burning fire in her chest coming back to life, beating in harmony with her own heartbeat.

"Can't give up!"

Then the side of their chest split open.

Mato saw a large, deep wound appearing over Rock's left ribs, pouring so, so much blood and she knew... she knew a wound just like that was the cause of that horrible pain on her own side...

The world went from white and blue to red and black in a moment and Mato only managed to whisper one thing.

"Yo...mi..."

Then she mercifully fainted.

_**To be continued.**_

There we go, finally Mato gets to have her own narration.

I hope I did a good job making Mato's and Rock's perspectives different enough. They may have the same goals, but they are very different.

Big thanks to Geo Fighter for the review and all the people who fav'd and follow the story. I would thank you even more if you leave a little review, though. Just want to know what you're liking so far or what you would like to see or if you have any question, etc. You know the drill.

Next chapter, the conclusion of the beginning.


	3. Give me just one more chance

I was going to wait a bit longer before posting this part, but the news of the new BRS ANIME -a continuation of the OVA-, made me do it. That's right, next year an actual anime. Dead Master with glasses is love. Also, next week comes out the Game, so there's plenty for BRS fans to be happy about. Too bad I'm not living in Japan, or I would go to one of the BRS café.

Thanks for the reviews, favorites and the follows this story has gotten so far! You guys rock! I'll say more in an author note at the end of the chapter, especially for the anons.

Especial thanks to _**Geo Fighter, Josuwa, Miss Storyholic, RetardedFool, The BlackPheonix NightengaleFudo, Rock Rocks, Burning Reader and HUKE fan. **_

Without further ado, we finish the beginning.

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 3**

_**Give me just one more chance**_

Kuroi Kurenai knew something wasn't right.

Raising two very active children like Mato and Hiro on her own had taught her very early on how to ignore things that didn't immediately made life for her and her children harder. Hiro standing up in the middle of the night caught her interest but her subconscious would content itself following the pitter patter as he walked around the house. If the sound of movement made its way towards the front or back door or if he were making his way to her bedroom's door she would immediately wake up; she wouldn't wake up at the racket of his stumbling and bumping against furniture if her little son remained inside her house where he was safe and simply needed to use the potty.

She would also ignore her daughter's sleepy and annoyed sounds if she were making herself a midnight snack; Mato had a habit of expecting the house to move away from her path while she was sleepy, as unsuccessful as it always proved to be. Mato tended to be much more vocal about her complains than little Hiro, so Kurenai could sleep better knowing Mato was well enough to be noisy about her annoyance.

However, ever since Yomi-chan's disappearance Kurenai's usual sleep habits had taken a sharp change, becoming acutely aware of any sound in her house. The idea of anybody breaking into her home to get to her children had her ready to jump at any new sound outside her usual nightly routine.

Therefore, when she heard Mato jumping off her bed and make a mad race out her bedroom, down the corridor and all but flying down the stairs as she tried to reach the front door, Kurenai knew something was wrong.

She scrambled out of bed, noticing it was just breaking dawn and she ran towards the front door, finding Mato still dressed in yesterday's crumpled clothes, hurriedly putting on her shoes. "Mato!" she called out but her little girl ignored her. "Mato! What's wrong, where are you going?" she asked, not that she had any intention to let her daughter go anywhere at this hour, especially after what happened to Yomi-chan.

"Yomi's-!" she shouted and the mother sucked in a startled breath. "Yomi's place!" And just like that she was out of the house. Kurenai tried to stop her, foregoing her shoes but she was still too slow to stop her daughter from jumping on her bike and bolt down the street and disappear around the alleys. Kurenai ran into the house, checking Hiro was still sleeping and then grabbed the house's and the car's keys, starting to dial up to the Takanashi's house. She locked the front door and jumped into her car, desperately hoping Yomi's parents would pick up the phone quickly.

She made it to the small mansion before they could answer the phone and all but knocked down their door. She felt her heart going out to them when she saw the hope on their faces turn into distress when they saw who was at their doorsteps at this hour. Kurenai's own worry turned into fear when Mato failed to arrive at the Takanashi's and didn't pick up her phone despite the many, many phone calls from both mothers.

Kurenai went back to her car and started to drive around the neighborhood while she kept Yomi's mother on the phone, listening to her husband trying to reach Mato on another phone.

She didn't let her panic take the better of her, well aware Mato was a tough and smart girl, more boy than girl at times, especially if it came down to violence, and Kurenai was sure she could take care of herself, but she still wondered about what could have happened to make Mato leave the house at this hour?

She wanted to smack herself on the head but she was too busy driving. The answer was obvious. Mato would do anything for those dear to her, but that didn't even start to describe what her daughter would do for Yomi-chan. If Mato thought she had the slightest clue of where Yomi-chan could be, she would immediately go looking. If she was honest, she had been worried there could be more than just friendship between her daughter and the Takanashi girl, but Mato was too thickheaded to even think about something like that.

They had grown so attached of each other and there was only one place in the entire city that Mato considered hers and by extension that she would consider Yomi's. Their special place where they could always go to if they were feeling down, or celebrating for whatever reason, or just wanted to be alone. A little panoramic point on the top of the sakura trees surrounded hill, overlooking the entire city and surrounding mountains.

She turned the car around and made her way towards the viewpoint. Only a couple minutes and she would have her daughter back at her side... Kurenai stared in dread at the seemingly innocuous bicycle illuminated by the raising sun. The fact that Mato had simply dropped it at the feet of the stairs leading to the panoramic point and her daughter was nowhere to be found set off all kind of alarms in the mother's mind. The next thing to do was obvious in her mind: she took out the taser from her purse and then pulled out the tire iron from underneath the driver's seat.

"_She was going up,"_ she couldn't help noticing the position of the bicycle even as she all but ran up stairs towards the top of the hill.

"No... no, no, nono... Mato! Mato!" the mother shouted, frantically looking around the empty place. "Mato!" She looked all over the place, trying to find any trace of Mato. Over the other stairs, down past the railing, beyond the trees and towards the surrounding streets.

The sun lazily rose over the horizon, bathing the place in bright light.

"Please, not my daughter..." her legs wobbled and she fell on her knees. Tears started to well up in her eyes as the city woke up around her. "This... this is all a dream... it has to be... please..."

* * *

><p>Mato chocked back a gasp as she woke up, every single part of her body screaming to just go back to sleep and maybe properly lay down, not... not whatever she was doing right now. A shuddering breath escaped her lips and Mato tried to see what was keeping her from just collapsing like she so rightfully deserved to do.<p>

"_clink-clink." _

Came a little metallic sound answering the twitch of her hands. That was odd, why were her hand together... above her head?

She blinked the darkness away but the sudden glare of light forced her to shut them again. Great, now she had a headache on top of everything else! While her eyes remained closed, she took a few deep breaths -which made her body ache all over- and tried to figure out what had happened.

She could feel her arms forced up and behind her head, pulling just enough that as long as she remained still it was a little inconvenience; if she tried to move, she started to feel as if her arms were about to be wrenched out of their sockets. Her legs were spread apart, one of her them was perpendicular to the ground, bent backwards and twisted around, giving the same effect than her arms, a little movement in false and she could swear her hips were making tearing sounds. The other leg was folded up, close to her body in a way that was cutting all the circulation to the limb and made her want to kick her leg around to ease the numbness... which in turn would cause everything else to friggin' **hurt!**

Who would go to such lengths to make her feel like this? Hell, what had she done to begin with! Last thing she remembered... oh crud...

Eyelids slowly blinked open, trying to adjust to the contrast of light and darkness and she looked down to see dozens of black chains wrapped around her black clad... body...

… Their body...

Rock's body, actually... so why wasn't Rock on the controls!

"_Rock! Rock you in there!" _she shouted in her mind as she had been doing before and was surprised at just how _loud_ it came. It was almost shouting through walls loud, very unlike the whisper-like call she had been using so far.

She could hear a faint, very faint noise at the back of her mind and she "reached" out for it, trying to bring it closer but Rock's presence was incredibly sluggish, almost as if it were fighting any of Mato's attempts... actually, it was just like when Mato just didn't want to wake up and did her best to slump in bed...

"_Rock?" _she called once more and then listened.

A faint, exhausted and drawn out snoring reached Mato and the girl felt like pounding her head on a wall. Great, just what she needed. Now she was on her own while Rock took a nap. Not that she could hold it against the other girl, Mato really wanted to just collapse and forget she and Rock had gotten their ass handed to them in a silver tray by Yomi.

Of course, the fact she was currently bound to the walls and floor by chains that could tear her arms, legs and head apart if Yomi felt like it made resting a little difficult to say the least.

_Damndamndamndamn..._

Okay, it was not the time to panic even though it really was the time to panic and she was already panicking! She-she had to find a way to get out of this. Without Rock. Rock was exhausted after walking for weeks and then fighting for hours against Yomi. Rock deserved a break. That meant everything fell in Mato's hands...

They were so screwed it wasn't even funny.

She looked around, noticing she was still in the chamber they had lost against Yomi. She was high off the ground, on a little corridor full of shadows cast by pillars and arcs on the ceiling; she could see beyond these arcs that the ceiling just disappeared from sight and the little corridor seemed to circle the entire place. The center of the chamber was hollowed with the exception of a few broken, stone platforms that stretched right in front of her, and many, many chains connected the walls in the circular chamber. The quiet whisper of wind going on made Mato think the bottom of the chamber was far, _far_ bellow.

There was also no sign of Yomi.

Mato really didn't know if she should feel thankful for the break or fearful that something bad could have happened to her friend. She knew this dark-Yomi could defend herself but... but she was Yomi in the end and Mato had promised to be by Yomi's side and protect her of anything, which was kinda stupid now that she had seen Yomi fight...

Who the hell jumped with a giant smile into a wall of bullets to jump like a maniac between the giant bullets!

She had been scared out of her mind when Rock opened fire but deep down she had known Yomi wouldn't be hurt at all. Some part of Mato just knew what Rock was thinking, and she was sure, just as Rock was sure, that Yomi couldn't be touched by the bullet hell. In a way she agreed with Rock that watching Yomi move around was beautiful. Stunning. Made her droll a little, actually. It had been simply amazing to see Yomi just move around, "dancing" like Rock called it.

But despite all the scares and distractions, she couldn't shake out of her mind the look of pain on Yomi's face that made Mato want to hug her and tell her that everything would be fine.

But nothing was fine.

They were in this destroyed world where Yomi wasn't and was Yomi, where they fought to the death with a big smile and nothing made sense anymore!

Yomi... her Yomi was kind, soft spoken, always thinking about others first, would always listen to what Mato had to say, and maybe liked to poke fun at Mato's expenses a bit too much, but that was okay with her. Her life had taken a turn for the better ever since she met Yomi; she was happy, she was doing better at school, she finally got to do girly things with other girls, even if they boring, and got to watch scary movies and not be embarrassed she was scared of scary movies... she finally had somebody she could call her best friend. Somebody who she was willing to go to the end of the world for if she had to... Somebody she had promised to take care of for the rest of her life...

"Dammit," she sighed, slumping as much as she could in her binds. Her whole body ached, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her chest; her heartache just got worst with each second that went by but Mato refused to cry anymore.

She had cried enough already, she had hated herself for being unable do anything to bring Yomi back. Now she had her chance right in her hands... she wasn't going to go back on her word. She was going to bring Yomi back somehow, and then she would take care of whoever hurt Yomi in the real world and then... then somehow make sure nothing like this happened ever again.

Yomi didn't deserve this, she was the sweetest, kindest person ever and Mato was going to make sure Yomi knew that once they were back home.

Sounded like a plan.

Now... How to get back home...?

She let out a tired sigh and winced when she felt her sides trying to split open at the innocent gesture. Watery eyes looked down, bellow her top, where a _**big**_, red and pink cut was stitched shut by black metal staples. It looked about the same place where she had seen the cut on Rock's body appear, and maybe the one that had appeared on her own body back in that white place. Did Yomi do this?

Her regal girlfriend must have been more confused than Mato first thought... but at least Yomi made sure to treat the wound to some degree. She wasn't bleeding all over the place, so that was definitely an improvement and as long she focused on anything else it didn't feel as if somebody had tried to rip out her lungs and heart through the hole on the side.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath -_don't think on the pain don't think on the pain don't think_-, and looked up.

"Yomi, are you there?" She needed to find a way to get Yomi back before finding a way to get her back home, after all.

There was a faint metallic clink high up and a moment later Yomi dropped on the broken bridge in front of her. Feeling a blush rushing up her cheeks, Mato stared for a moment, she had to, since Yomi had opened her bone wings wide in the last moment and had somehow stopped her fall, making her look so damn freaky, scary and utterly cool. The flame in her chest flared a little and Mato could feel Rock stirring inside her mind.

"Mato..." the tall girl said and the shorter girl flinched. The way Yomi used her name sounded "wrong", the sound making a chill run up her spine.

"Yomi, ah, get me out of here."

Mato heard Rock groaning in the back of her mind, but didn't have time to focus on her. Yomi folded her wings close to her body and walked a few steps closer. Her face twisting with an ugly smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we need to go back home, Yomi."

The taller girl blinked for a moment and took a quick step back. "You... you are _**Mato**__._ Where's the other you?"

"Rock? Eh, she's tired, she's resting," how did Yomi figure it out?

"Her name's Rock?"

"Black Rock Shooter," Mato corrected her.

"Hmm, I'll get to know her better later on, then," Yomi muttered and started to take a step back.

"Wait! Yomi, take off these chains!"

Yomi's eyes hardened and the sick smile twisted a little. "Why would I do that, Mato?"

"We have to get back home, Yomi. Everybody is worried about you," Yomi raised an skeptical eyebrow and Mato felt herself growl, "It's true! Your parents hired detectives, my mom and Hiro are asking all their friends about you and I...," Mato chocked a little but felt her hopes raising when she noticed she had Yomi's attention, green eyes softening ever so slightly. "I, I had no idea what to do, Yomi. I knew I should have done something sooner, I just didn't know what to do... hee, I really have no idea how I could have found you here, I looked for you all over the place in our world, and I just couldn't sleep waiting for any clue where you could be and I just... I almost gave up... I'm so sorry Yomi, I almost gave up," she looked up, begging Yomi to forgive her. Yomi's closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, her face twitching a little as if she were in pain.

"I thought I couldn't do anything, Yomi. I thought, I thought I just... I don't know why I did it Yomi, I just, I just... I don't even know. Being away from you was horrible, it was like having a hole here in my chest, that much it hurt. But knowing there was a chance I couldn't be with you ever again made me- I felt like- I... dammit, it was so bad, Yomi," Mato whispered, looking intently into Yomi's green eyes. The other girl averted her eyes for a brief moment, starting to breath harder; Mato could feel Rock stirring back into consciousness at the sight of the vulnerability Yomi was allowing to show. "I was just going through the day without realizing what I was doing, I wanted you back at my side so badly, but I didn't know how or where I could even start looking for you. Oh dammit, I almost even broke down in the middle of the school, but Yuu was there to give me strengths and mak-."

"_**Shut up!**_" Mato started and her whole body screamed in pain at the sudden jolt but she ignored it, focusing on Yomi's sudden emotionless face.

"_What happened?" _Mato could hear Rock mumbling at the back of her head and tried to get Rock back in control of her own body but nothing happened. Not even trying to "move" away to let Rock take control seemed to do anything.

"Yomi, wai-."

"**I said shut up!**" Yomi lashed out and Mato could see the invisible wave moving through the air. She chocked in her breath, trying to keep from throwing up when the wave of pressure washed over her, making the chains pull and tighten their hold on her body and the wound on her side felt as if were about to burst open again. "You... Mato you'll stay here... always here, where you won't run away, can't leave me ever again," Yomi's whispered words almost escaped Mato. So faint and sad... and so angry...

"I-I ne-never did, Y-Yomi."

"Liar..."

That simple word was like a slap on the face to Mato and she almost felt her world crumbling down around her.

"You will never hurt me again."

"What...?" Rock and Mato shared a moment of disbelief. "Yomi, I would never hurt you," Mato said in a tightly controlled voice. "I-I could never hurt you, I would never think of-of doing anything like that!" The idea that she could have done anything to Yomi, _her Yomi_... no, it couldn't be, right? There was no way that could have ever happened... "I would rather die before ever hurting yo-."

The chains around her neck suddenly tightened hard enough Mato felt the skin breaking open, cutting off anything she had tried to say. They kept on squeezing and squeezing until Mato started to see spots dancing in front of her eyes.

"I know, Mato, I know I can't trust your word any more. Such a good liar you are, always looking me in the eye, telling me how much you loved me, but you replaced me without a second thought. Tossed me away like a piece of trash, didn't you? That's how much I was worth to you, how much I ever meant to you. But don't worry, I will never, ever, replace you, Mato."

Yomi took a step back and the chains suddenly eased up, leaving Mato coughing up bloodied spit. Oh god, she was a mess...

It was several seconds before Mato could breath again, still breaking into coughing fits. "You... don't want to be rescued, right Yomi?" Mato whispered, letting her head hang low. Rock started to protest immediately but she fell silent as Yomi chuckled darkly.

"You could never rescue anybody, Mato. You're just right where you are, where you can never hurt me again and will never leave me."

"I see..." Mato whispered sadly.

"_Mato, you can't give up!" _Rock cried in despair, trying to get control of their body but too weak to do so.

A little smile grew on Mato's face. "I won't, Rock... I just wanted to be with Yomi again, to be by her side..."

"And you will be, Mato. We will be here forever," came the dark statement.

"No... no, we will go back home, Yomi," she said and looked up and their right eye was burning with a blue flame. "Once you're back to your family, you can hate me all you want and I-I will respect your d-decision then..." her voice cracked a little, but she stubbornly continued, "You... you can even ask me- ask me anything- to stay away from you forever if you want to, but first I will take you home with me!"

Yomi's eyes hardened but she simply started to walk away in disgust.

Mato took a deep breath and then started to pull, trying to break free from the supernatural chains. It hurt, oh how it hurt, it was like having their arms and legs about to be ripped out of their shoulders and hips, but she forced her bruised body to endure even more. She had come this far, she wasn't going to give up now! Yomi hated her... she hated her... it hurt so bad but at least she was going to try to make it right for Yomi. She could do one last nice thing for her friend.

"_I'm sorry_," Rock whispered, her voice far closer this time, and Mato smiled.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. If whatever I did to Yomi is this bad, then I deserve any punishment she can dish at me."

"_You're not alone, remember?" _

"Rock?" the question went unanswered but Mato immediately felt something change within her. She could feel Rock's flame beating stronger and closer, so strong it was drowning Mato's own heartbeat and so close she almost thought it was hers. Her own flame started to burn stronger, trying to match up to Rock's, trying to reach out and become one with the quiet girl.

She pulled their arms forward, trying to force their wrists free from the chains; the links started to groan, straining to remain together but they still came undone, shattering loud enough that it made Yomi stop. The tall girl stared in disbelief as they tore savagely on the chains, dropping to their hands and knees once they were done. Mato looked up, their burning eyes meeting Yomi's, those acid green eyes showing a hint of doubt for the first time in them.

Mato took a deep breath and stood up. The wound on their side throbbed, but for some reason it didn't hurt as much as it did before; it only hurt as if it were just a little bruise, not a bleeding gap on her side. She took a few steps towards Yomi but the other girl started to back away, looking around for something. Desperately, Yomi lashed out and a chain came out of her hand, its spear-tip rushing towards Mato at lighting like speed, but the advancing girl simply backhanded it away, moving so slow to their eyes; the metal burned in a white and blue flame at her touch, reduced to nothing almost instantly.

Yomi could only stare as the white embers that used to be the chain rained around her. Mato stopped a couple steps away from Yomi and then extended a hand towards her friend.

"Come Yomi, let's go home," she pleaded one final time.

The winged girl stumbled back another step, keeping her eyes on Mato. "No... you did it once, you'll do it again... there's no point on going back, you'll just end up doing the same! Nobody will accept my feelings..."

"Yomi, I promise I will do anything you tell me to."

"No, no more Mato!"

Yomi tried to take another step back but her foot didn't find any ground, only the edge of the broken bridge. It was so sudden she only managed to gasp and blink, not really understanding what happened as she started to fall... before two warm arms caught her around the waist, holding her delicate self tightly against Mato's rough and battered body.

"I'm sorry, Yomi," Mato whispered in Yomi's ear and she felt her stiffening in their embrace.

"Ma-Mato?" Yomi whispered in a frightened voice but that didn't last.

"I'm so selfish, Yomi, I just want you back, just for a moment."

A growl raised from the back of Yomi's throat as she tried to push Mato away. "I said no! I hate you!"

"I know..."

"Let me go-!" trembling arms tried to push Mato away.

"I never wanted to let you out of my sight-."

"I never want to see you again!" she kept on trying to push her away, clawed fingers digging deeply into her shoulders, but Mato never loosened her hold.

"I don't want to live without you at my side, Yomi-."

"Lemme go!" the scream was no longer a growl, but a scared and desperate little sound that wounded Mato more than the claws carving into her body.

"I want to hear you laugh, Yomi... I want to see you give me that smile I like so much..."

"...nonono no Mato... please let me go! Please!"

"Please, give me just one more chance, Yomi, please..." Mato asked almost desperately. She buried her face on Yomi's shoulder, feeling hers and Rock's flame beating stronger in their chest with every second they spent together with Yomi. The trembling body in their arms was slowly enveloped by their warmth.

Yomi suddenly cried out in pain and started to fall into the darkness. Her body slowly broke down until there was nothing left of her even as her dying scream echoed one final time in the empty cathedral.

Mato and Rock looked at Yomi until the last moment, their heart twisting in their chest as they saw Yomi disappear.

They hugged the girl in their arms tighter and Yomi hugged them back in her sleep. The hands that had been drawing bloody trenches on their shoulders were replaced by delicate human hands, the wings of black bone were gone as were the metallic horns, her height and proportions were back to what Mato remembered of her best friend, leaving her looking like any regular middle-school girl.

"Yomi...?" Mato whispered and she felt the regal girl hug her closer in her sleep. Rock and Mato shared a relieved sigh but there was no time for a break. The whole place started to groan, dust raining from the ceiling and the walls started to crack.

"Oh, crud..."

Carefully they picked Yomi bridal style and ran. They ran past the halls decorated by the scorch marks and scars of their fight. Walls, ceilings and giant stone blocks started to fall all around them while they climbed hundreds and hundreds of meters of corridors, stairs and chains, desperately trying to find a way out before the cathedral buried them alive.

There! At the end of a corridor was a little blue light! Seeing the entire place still trying to crush them, they put everything they had into running! The corridor made a last attempt to keep them from escaping but after everything they had gone through, they wouldn't let a few tons of rock and metal keep them from making sure Yomi left this place unharmed!

They were so close now, close enough that Mato could see the blue of the sky and the white of clouds. That was the exit, it had to be! A final push and they all would be safe.

Mato held Yomi close to her and kicked off the edge of the corridor to jump into that blue sky, desperately hoping it was the way back home, and Black Rock fell flat on her face, bouncing a couple times before rolling to a stop via slamming against a giant tombstone. Once her body slumped to the ground she looked up, noticing they were several hundred meters away from the giant crater and the collapsing cathedral. Well, they had been running as fast as they could... maybe faster than was necessary? She blinked and rolled back to her feet, desperately looking around.

"Yomi! Yomi!" she called out, finding her arms empty. "Yomi!" she called one final time but saw nothing except the endless graveyard around her and the large crater city behind her. There was no trace of Yomi anywhere. "Mato, what happened? I couldn't see anything... Mato?" nobody replied.

She closed her eyes and looked deep inside her, trying to find the other blue flame within, but she couldn't find anything in that white and blue place. A cold emptiness started to claw to her chest but a little glow caught her attention. It was a little star far away, glowing brighter than the light within; Rock stared in silence as a warmth started to flood back into her.

She opened her eyes, reassured Mato was still out there somewhere, hopefully with Yomi.

She breathed out a sigh of relief and immediately fell on her back. Exhaustion eat least caught up to her and she simply laid on her back, staring up to a greenish, purple, polluted sky and a yellow full moon, uncaring of her body spasming from time to time in pain. Mato and Yomi were safe, that was the only thing that mattered...

Her left hand idly posed itself over the stitched wound on her ribs and blue flames danced over her fingers. Slowly she traced the red edges, forcing the flames into the wound, uncaringly ripping out the black staples as she worked her way over the injury; it would leave a huge scar but she didn't mind. It gave her something new to cling to.

Her quiet sigh was drowned under the sound of the cathedral still crumbling upon itself.

She had helped get her Princess back to her own world that day, and her black Queen was gone too, both girls forever beyond her reach for good.

Still, she had held them both in her arms, she had been able to hold them close, to breath in their essence. She couldn't help thinking about that day, so many moons ago, when she wondered if it was worth clinging to life. A fleeting smile grew on her face, knowing that without her Mato and Yomi would have remained in separate worlds, unable to do anything about their pain. Now they had a little glimmer of hope, one that she had helped them grasp.

"Mato, don't screw it up this time," she whispered, unable to keep her tired eyes from closing on their own. "Make sure Yomi can smile again."

Black Rock Shooter's body quietly faded away, leaving that other world empty save for a full moon and a lonely white star in the sky.

* * *

><p>She jolted out of bed, throwing the covers away and rushing towards the window. Half-lidded eyes looked on at the empty streets before she opened the window and leaned half her body out.<p>

"Are you sure?" she managed to say before a yawn drowned anything else.

Eyes closed, she nodded at something only she could hear.

"Two Black Paradoxes then... no? …. Think that one will manage to survive?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, we can look for them later. It's too late now... or too early," she groaned, sunlight falling on her sleepy, wine colored eyes.

She turned around and started to make her way to the bathroom, wanting to get ready for the day.

"Of course you can, we just have to find them first. Won't be hard tracking down a newborn," she said, "We can always kill them if they give us problems," she said with supreme nonchalance.

_**Continuará**_

And so, we move fast away from the OVA and into full blown original content. Buckle up people, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Finally more characters are introduced! Yeah, Mato's mom doesn't have an official name so I gave her one. It is implied Yomi's family is rich, but we never got to see her house, so I also gave them a house according to the hints.

The fight finally ended, I hope you liked the changes I added. Like the anon "HUKE's fan" guessed, this is how BRS got the scar by her ribs; the first one by the hips obviously done by Black Gold Saw when she killed Rock. Judging by the reviews, people is following the story without problems, so I won't bother you by pointing the little clues. I mean, one of you said I practically ruin the mystery so I'll try to be subtler from now on.

ALSO! I know I promised "shorter" chapters for faster updates... they will get shorter from now on, not progressively longer as those first three chapters... I hope. Bad habit of mine to keep on writing and writing.

FOR THE PEOPLE LEAVING ANONYMOUS REVIEWS: Thank you for being polite so far, and giving such nice and insightful reviews! I would really appreciate if you people log in to review so I can reply to you properly, I don't really want to answer to reviews here in the chapter. I can give you little replies from time to time, but I think I'll probably end up leaving a review with mass answers if you people keep leaving anonymous reviews. If I do, I'll let you know in the next chapters.

See you soon people!


	4. They were saying Yomi and Mato are

Sorry for the wait. The usual thanks for the people who reviewed, and specially to IzanagiMikoto for the awesome review. Thanks lots!

Now, as promised we move into AU territory. Introducing another of the main characters, one who may cause some controversy among the fans. Hope you like her though.

Also, the Game. Waaay too short. Interesting and fun characters tho!

Now on to the show!

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 4**

_**They were saying Yomi and Mato are...**_

A little girl came out of the 2-B classroom, who looked too young to be attending middle-school, with short, ashen hair that stuck out a little on the back, and half-lidded eyes of a honey color. She looked over the classroom she had just left, focusing on the seat that Mato would usually occupy. A brief look over 2-A reminded her of the empty seat that had been used by Yomi.

With a depressed sigh, the little girl started to make her way out.

Yuu stumbled her way towards the gym, barely noticing what was going on around her. The petite girl bumped against a girl with a digital camera -probably a member of the newspaper club- but she didn't even made any attempt to apologize. She heard the tall girl growling in annoyance but she didn't care.

"You heard? They say the people who kidnapped Takanashi came back to kidnap Kuroi!" an excited girl _whispered_ to her friend.

The rumors...

"Eeee? No way! Who would even _want_ to kidnap that tomboy? I mean, why even bother? Isn't her family like poor? She doesn't even have a dad, I heard he abandoned them."

_'What? How-wh-what gives them the right to say those things about Mato's family?'_

"Dunno, maybe they wanted to get more money out of the Takanashi family. You never know, they were saying Yomi and Mato are, you know."

"Touchy touchy friends?" her friend giggled.

"More like lesbians!"

"Ewww, gross!"

_'Idiots... bunch of idiots. Mato and Yomi don't love each other like that, they love each other like best friends... _my_ best friends..._

"Oh, I heard they didn't really kidnap those two."

"Whaaaa? Then where are they?"

"They eloped, obviously!"

_'Are they- are they serious?'_

"Aww, that's kinda sweet! That was why Kuroi was so sad, wasn't she? Her girlfriend left without her."

"I love you! I love you so much! I looove you!"

"I love you too!"

"Where would we elope to, tho?"

"Oh, Kyoto! I love Kyoto! Can we elope there?"

"You really are stupid, aren't ya?" Yuu said with a bitter smile.

"Huh?"

"What did you say, midget?"

"If you think what happened to Mato and Yomi is fun–"

"Wait, Mato and Yomi? Oh, you're the shorty who is always following Kuroi around, aren'tcha?," the other girl thrust a finger on Yuu's face and she couldn't help backing away. "Bah, come on, just ignore her."

"Jeez, can't you take a joke? You're just jealous Kuroi didn't take you to their little trip."

Yuu clenched her fists in anger, but she knew she couldn't really try to do anything to these two. "You're beyond stupid if you think there's anything fun about what happened to Mato and Yomi! They didn't run away or anything, this is serious! They could be hurt or worst!"

"Co-come on, don't say that, it's just-just a bit of harmless fun."

"You wouldn't think it is harmless or fun if somebody takes you away from your family and your friends!" the other girl flinched but her friend simply waved her hand dismissively. "It wouldn't be fun if you didn't know if your friends are okay or not or if they are ever going to come back!"

"Just ignore her. We're getting late for the club anyway."

"Umm, sorry, we weren't trying to be mean..."

"Just- just go..."

The other girls quickly left and Yuu squeezed her eyes tightly shut and walked away, trying to ignore the stares the other students were giving her now. She had heard similar rumors when Yomi-chan first disappeared but now they had become even more vicious since Mato wasn't there. When Yomi disappeared and other people started to spread rumors about their friend, Yuu had seen Mato clenching her fists and trembling in anger, now Yuu knew how much it hurt the impotence of not being able to do anything.

Not even shutting up those girls had done anything at all other than upsetting her.

She had told Mato to stop worrying and no longer feeling so down, because that made everybody else feel down and worried. Mato was strong enough to do just that for everybody else's sake, to swallow up her pain and put up a strong front... but Yuu just wasn't strong enough, lacking the strength Mato could give to her friends.

Yuu had never had any strength of her own, always relying on Mato and, in a way, on Yomi too. Now both of them were gone and she was alone... life sucked.

She blinked, just now noticing she was in front of the gym's doors. The basketball club was supposed to have started a while ago but she didn't feel like going; depressed didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere in the gym. The rest of the team was feeling in an all time low since the star of the team had disappeared, and their gym roomies, the volleyball team kept asking Yuu for any news about Yomi, but it was always the same.

She didn't know.

Her watch started to beep and she stood straighter. Checking the time she decided: "Screw it," and walked away from the gym. The team wouldn't do anything today again, they could deal with the management of the team for a day without her.

She made her way towards the vending machines and got a can of soda, with a little sound of displaced air she opened the can and pulled a couple pills, popping them down with a gulp of the cold drink. She checked the time again and sighed, taking another sip.

"Now what?" she mused out loud, looking up at the blue sky.

The days just seemed to blur by, with only a few moments standing out among the numbness. She thought she would never feel this trapped again, but here she was, knowing there was nothing she could do other than keep on praying for Mato and Yomi to somehow come back home safe and sound.

Well, at least she could check if there were any news about her friends...

She flipped open her cellphone and started to dial to little Hiro's phone, the poor kid was taking it harder than she had expected, but stopped. She had been dialing at Mato's number for the last couple days, even though she knew Mato wouldn't answer; what kind of kidnappers would let her keep her phone after all. But, as Mato told her, it never hurt to hope, right?

The phone rang for a third time before Yuu noticed the phone was ringing... every other time it had just told her Mato's phone was off service area! She held her breath, her heart beating painfully in her chest, and waited.

_'Click'_

"Mato! Mato, you there?" she shouted as soon as her friend answered.

"Wh-who, who is this?" came a woman's voice.

"What? No, who are _you_! Why do you have Mato's phone?"

"Mato's resting at the moment and she-," Yuu blinked.

"Miss Kuroi?" she asked tentatively and the other end of the line went silent for a couple seconds.

"... Yuu-chan?"

"Miss Kuroi di-did you say Mato was resting? Please tell me Mato is there!" she pleaded, her free hand clutching her chest painfully.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Yuu-chan, yes Mato is here! Mato is here, oh how good it feels to say that!"

"Mato's back... thank god. Where was she? What happened?"

"We're not sure, she just showed up this morning with Yomi in her arms."

"Yomi too! Oh, thank god again! I'll have to go to the shrine to make some offerings then."

"Yes, sounds fair."

Yuu sighed deeply, taking a long swing of her soda. "So, what happened? Are they okay? Did the police catch the kidnappers?"

"We don't know yet, Mato hasn't woken up yet and Yomi is suffering from amnesia. She thought it was the same day she went missing."

"Man, I can't think what it must have been like for her to make her forget about an entire week," she whispered, looking down to her feet. "Mato didn't say anything?"

"She just showed up on the door, saying Yomi was safe and then went out like a light," miss Kuroi sighed, muttering something like "reckless daughter", but Yuu was too happy to remark on it. "Mato isn't all that well, though. She was covered in bruises and scrapes."

"What! Is she okay?"

"Yes, the doctors said it's nothing life threatening, she's got worst playing basketball. The ordeal left her exhausted, though. She gave as much as she took, it seems."

"So Mato got to be the knight in shinning armor, huh?" Yuu asked with a little, relieved smile. "Damn, Mato, only you. Where are you, ma'am? Can I visit?"

"You should. Once Mato is out of the hospital she's going to be grounded until she's my age!"

Yuu couldn't help laughing as she imagined Mato's reaction to being told as much. "Don't be too hard on her, miss Kuroi, she's just a bit thickheaded. And she did bring Yomi back!"

A tired sigh came from the other end. "I know, Yuu, I know. It doesn't change the fact she was still taken and for some miraculous reason she didn't end up getting herself killed; according to the doctors, it wasn't for a lack of trying by the kidnappers. It scares me so much how close I came to losing her... but I'm so proud my little girl rescued Yomi."

"Yeah," Yuu said wistfully.

"Just don't tell Mato I said that. I'm still mad at her."

"Okee okee!" Yuu's spirits immediately brightened again and she stood in attention. "In which hospital are you staying at?"

"Omoikane's Memorial. I don't know if you'll be able to make it before the visiting hours end, though. I can call you once Mato wakes up if you want to."

"I would love to!"

"Alright then. Thanks Yuu for being here for my little ones."

"Nono, thank you, ma'am. Hiro is a nice kid and Mato is my best friend, I'd do anything for you three."

"See you soon."

"Bye-by!"

Yuu sighed deeply, holding her cellphone against her chest. She opened her eyes and an impish smile grew on her face. "Dammit Mato, don't scare me like that!" she moaned, placing her face into her palms. The tears didn't feel bad this time so she let herself have a good cry.

She threw the empty can into trashcan and briskly walked towards the gym. She had some good news to share!

Things were going back to normal now, and she couldn't be more thankful for that.

* * *

><p>Light... annoying light...<p>

She curled under the covers, trying to ignore the rising heat but her opponent was insistent. She eventually rolled on her back and blue eyes slowly cracked open, squinting at a white ceiling –with a few black stars breaking its monotony–, noticing the sun out of the window.

One hand came up and removed the sheets off her body, letting the breeze cool her body a little. Her mouth slowly opened wide for a couple seconds, eyes closing on their own, and then she closed her mouth and opened her eyes, wincing a little. Yawning hurt.

First her left foot touched the floor then the other and she tentatively stood up. Arms flailed around as she wobbled precariously on the spot, finally succumbing to gravity and making a landing on the bed once again. She blinked a couple times and tried to raise her legs, only managing a couple centimeters before she had to set them on the ground once again. She sighed deeply, scratching the back of her head and then stared around her. Her shorts and top were still on the little table, her cloak was hanging off the door, her cannon was propped against wall next to her guitar, her boots were right next to her bed, the strip of leather she used to tie her hair was still on the floor.

Everything appeared to be in order.

She spent a couple minutes contemplating what to do and finally deciding on a plan of action. She stood up again. Five seconds later she was on her back once again. On the floor this time.

Another quiet sigh was heard in the room and she thought of another plan of action. She blinked noticing the little table with her clothes was within arm's reach.

Head tilted a little to the side and she blinked.

Two minutes later she managed to slip in her clothes, somehow doing so while still remaining on the ground. Next came the boots, brought closer by a lazy pull with her right leg and finally she turned on her stomach, uncaringly and lazily tying back her hair in a ponytail.

She crawled her way to the door and used her hanging cloak to drag herself up. Three seconds later she was back on the ground, the hook her cloak had been hanging off had come undone. Her cloak had fallen on top of her face so she couldn't see this happening; she knew this thanks to the metallic clank caused by hook beaning her on its way down.

A third –muffled– sigh filled the room.

Ten minutes later she had made her way to the lower floor, supporting herself against the walls and having fallen just once. At the stairs. It was a fast trip down. Her cannon had safely landed on top of her too.

Thirty minutes later she was wobbling into the kitchen, dropping her cloak over the dinning table and propping her cannon against the wall. She scavenged around the kitchen finally finding a bounty of bread and then found the toaster, the search for a electrical socket came next. Three minutes later she was sitting at the dinning table, staring in silence as the toaster did its job and two slices of bread popped out.

She took one of the slices, uncaring of the steam coming out of the bread and brought it gently to her lips. The bread made gentle creaking sounds as her teeth sank into the warm bread and then she moved the bite around her mouth, savoring as much of the morsel as possible. She grunted quietly in pain, her teeth still smarting but she endured. The bread was more important.

She made a sound in her throat, like a cavernous and content purr, and closed her eyes.

In the silence of the abandoned kitchen, she found out she enjoyed eating toast.

The cycle repeated thirty more times before she finished with all the bread; a little disappointing, but she could always hunt down more bread later on. Sighing contently she stood up and managed to stay on her feet this time; she picked up her cloak and cannon and started to make her way outside when she saw her reflection on a mirror. Dark bruises covered one side of her face and she could see the red injuries circling around her neck. She walked into the bathroom and started to clean herself, gently running a blue flame over the injuries. She worked slowly her way over everything she could reach until most of the injuries were no longer bloody or trying to make her scratch herself all over.

She could feel her limbs and joints still groaning in pain so she looked around for something to alleviate the pain with. She noticed under the sink a box with a white red cross and then blinked. That was the place you go to to fix injuries, wasn't it? She checked the box but could only find some pills she wasn't sure what they were for, some gauze and a roll of bandages, and finally some ointment with a very pungent odor.

She looked down and realized something. She had no idea what to do with anything of this.

She stepped out of the house into a desolated street, the nearby buildings empty and quiet, and the afternoon sun shinning strong on the sky. She could feel several creatures lurking around, hiding in any shadow but she didn't care.

She had a place to go.

A creature that resembled a human made of steel and rock jumped on her, followed by other two that were more crystal and rubber than anything else. The largest being tried to slash her apart with a bladed arm but she simply stepped aside at the last moment, letting the limb stick deep into the place she had been occupying a moment ago. The other two creatures stopped on their tracks, realizing something wasn't right with this scene; the girl had simply decided to start moving, not caring for the creature in the slightest.

The hulking creature stared in confusion at the ground, then at its partners and finally turned its head around to growl at the girl; roaring a challenge it wrenched its arm out of the broken asphalt. The street shook with each of its steps, fast approaching the retreating back of the girl and tried to cut her with a backhand slash. She simply ducked and then turned, a leg lashing out to kick it on its belly hard enough to make it double over in pain. As the monster choked on its hands and knees she drove the freak to the ground with a hammer like blown, courtesy of her cannon, on top of its head. Before the creature could get up she slammed the muzzle of her cannon on the back of its head and fired.

Almost casually she wiped the cannon around and blasted away at the other two without paying attention.

As bits of the creatures rained around the street, and the dust clouds started to settle, the other creatures tripped over themselves trying to get away from her. She could hear them moving around but she wasn't interested on them. She had a place to go.

She kept on walking.

Another creature, this one resembling a tall female human mixed with a feline of some type, still tried to attack her from behind. She aimed back her cannon over her shoulder, without looking, and fired a giant bullet of blue fire. She let her cannon hanging off behind her shoulder.

Behind her white ambers floated down where the cat girl had been standing a moment ago.

She didn't bother to stop walking.

* * *

><p>She woke up with a dainty yawn, delicately rubbing the sleep off her eyes. She dimly noticed that the sun was a fair distance off the horizon. Hmm, she usually saw the sun at such height when she was riding the train on her way to school... she threw the covers off and quickly sat up. She didn't use to sleep in like this! Why hadn't her mother woken her up!<p>

She blinked owlishly and had a moment of disorientation, unable to recognize her surroundings but it quickly passed. It was their hospital room, wasn't it?

She took a moment to just lay on bed and sighed, everything starting to come back to her and she sighed again as she thought back to what she had managed to puzzle out from miss Kuroi's and her parents' comments. It was more than a little baffling if she was honest, how could they expect her to simply accept that it had somehow been almost a week since she had gone _missing,_ and four days since Mato had disappeared too.

She clearly remembered talking with her team's captain yesterday, feeling too tired to be in the practice and then going back home and then... then she found Mato on top of her, crying her eyes out and telling her she wasn't allowed to leave her ever again. Among many other things, of course.

The fact she managed to get out a single coherent sentence from Mato at the time had been quite a triumph. Mato had been babbling more than actually talking, but the intent behind her words had been more than clear.

Remembering Mato's closeness, her tearful words, the way she was held against Mato's chest... Yomi placed a hand against her chest.

… For some reason it hurt...

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get rid of the feeling in her chest.

She looked across the room to where her roommate was sleeping in her own bed, snoring quietly from time to time. She looked around the room, noticing their door closed and nobody else with them and she felt a smile growing on her face. She stood on unsteady feet for a moment and made her way to the chair next to Mato's bed, quickly sitting down. However her smile sharply dropped when she noticed just how injured Mato was under all the bandages and patches covering her body.

The pain gripped her heart again and she swallowed.

If... if what everybody was telling her was true, then... then... "oh God, just what did you go through, Mato? And what for? Me?" Yomi whispered, sniffling a little. "I thought... I thought you... Mato... oh Mato, I'm so sorry."

She rested her head against Mato's shoulder and sighed tiredly. Why couldn't she remember anything? A part of her was content with simply not knowing, but...

"Why?" she sighed, her hand reaching out for her friend's, feeling moisture growing in her eyes.

Mato had suffered so much for her sake, she couldn't just ignore what her friend had gone through just because it was easier to not remember.

The more she thought about it, the more scared she became. The main reason anybody would kidnap her would be to get money out of her parents but she could easily speculate nobody had tried to contact them, so money probably wasn't the motive. Revenge then? It wasn't completely unthinkable... Maybe one of her parents business partners who held a grudge against them? If that was the case, then they wouldn't have reason to keep her safe, quite the contrary! Their reasons to take her away would be to hurt her, or they could have killed her, or... or worst...

She shivered violently, trying not to think of the horrible possibility and then she jumped a little. Mato was giving her hand a little squeeze.

"Did I wake you?" she asked but the short haired girl didn't give any indication she had heard her or that she was awake at all. After a few moments in silence Mato sighed and turned in her direction, curling a little in her sleep. A gentle smile blossomed on Yomi's face, content to see the look of complete peace on Mato's face.

She couldn't help herself and reached out a hand to brush a few strands away from Mato's closed eyes.

She smiled warmly, calling out in a quiet voice. "Mato?" She waited for a couple seconds but still didn't get a reply, "Mato, thank you very much." She pressed her face against Mato's shoulder again, breathing deeply in. "If you weren't my friend, I-I just don't know... I don't know what would be of me. Not just rescuing me, but everything... I'm so happy I was given the chance to know you, Mato. Thank you for being my dearest friend."

A mocking voice whispered in her ear, _**'Your only friend,'**_ but she ignored it as always.

She stood up and was about to walk back to her bed when she felt a tug on her hand. She turned back to see Mato's face screwing up in a frown.

"Did I wake you?"

Blue eyes blinked quickly open, immediately focusing on her with an intensity that made her gasp. "Yomi!" she gasped urgently, the hold on her hand becoming almost painful. "Don't... don't leave me again!"

"I won't, I promise," Yomi replied, quickly sitting back on the chair. The way Mato was looking at her, that intensity, it was almost scary and it made her chest feel painfully tight. It was as if Mato were expecting her to just vanish out of thin air. Mato tried to say something but a coughing fit interrupted her; Yomi spotted a pitcher with water and served a glass for Mato, who drank it greedily.

"Thanks," Mato groaned in a raspy voice that made Yomi pause. It reminded her of something... _**chains and a blue flame**_... but for the life of her she couldn't remember what.

"I should thank you, Mato. You are my knight in shinning armor after all," she said with a little smile.

Mato's blue eyes blinked in confusion for a moment. "Huh? What d'you mean?"

Now it was Yomi's turn to be confused. "You don't remember? You were the one who found me."

"I... I did... but only because you called me," Mato whispered.

"I did?"

"Yeah... yes, the sun wasn't up yet but your call woke me up and I went to our special place and then... and then?"

Yomi closed her eyes, trying to remember if she had really called Mato or not but she only came with a blank. "Then?"

"Then... you were in my arms..." Mato whispered, looking down to her hand holding Yomi's. "I took you home..."

"Mato... Mato, they were saying you were missing for almost four days."

"I was?"

"You don't remember who hurt you?"

"Who would hurt me?"

"Mato, just look at yourself!" she whispered, pulling Mato's arm up. Blue eyes widened in disbelief when she noticed all the bandages practically covering the entire limb and Yomi felt a ball of ice forming above her stomach. "You don't remember anything?"

"I don't..."

_**Continuará**_

Yes, I'm not having Yuu being the "obvious evil girl who wants to break Mato and Yomi apart" that is so prevalent in the western fandom. As you can guess, she'll be more active in the future, specially now that Yomi and Mato are back in Realworld.

I'll get the parents reactions in the next chapter and hopefully more adventures in Otherworld.

Please give a review if you're so kind. Let me know anything you want to say or ask about the story.

See ya soon!


	5. You make me feel good like that

Sorry for the wait! Got distracted with something else, but these new reviewers made the creative juices start flowing again! This is totally not me begging for reviews, no sir, just pointing out how the new readers and reviewers made me want to write a new chapter sooner. Just saying.

Thanks loads to Miss Storyholic, HUKE's fan and the anonymous reviewer. I'll address your reviews at the end of chapter's AN.

I know action has slowed down a little but things will pick up soon again.

Unbeta'd. If some kind soul could help me Beta the chapters I would really appreciate it.

Also, if you have the time, go to SpaceBattles and check Battle Fantasia Project. It's an awesome joint project and the BRS team is great too; I helped with them hee hee

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 5**

_**You make me feel good like that**_

Stone and glass stood tall in front of her, its facade remarkably unblemished unlike its ruined neighbors. A few of the buildings were nothing but brittle skeletons, seemingly waiting for the right breeze to knock them down. Even the slabs of black asphalt seemed to come together in a single smooth surface as it neared the giant.

_'Omoikane'_ the name on the front read, accompanied by the cross she remembered from back home.

With careless ease she shouldered her cannon and made her way in.

* * *

><p>"Thank you again for all your help, Kuroi-san."<p>

The young mother shook her head with a mirthless smile. "We have hardly done anything to help you solve this crime, Fujita-san. If Mato hadn't managed to make this miracle, who knows what would have been of Yomi-chan."

"Regardless, both girls are back, we can be thankful for that much," a younger man said with a friendly smile, causing Kurenai to grace both men with a smile born of relief this time. His expression fell a little at the annoyed growl from the older man.

"That would be all, Kuroi-san. Don't let us keep you from being with your daughter, I know what's like to want to be with your children when they aren't feeling well."

"Thank you again, detectives," the mother said with a low bow that the other two men promptly returned.

"Ma'am," the younger one said with a friendly tone. Fujita shared a meaningful smile of paternal experience with Kurenai and the woman bowed her head one final time before walking into her daughter's room.

"Seems we have a new mystery in ours hands, Fujita-san," pocketing a little notebook the suited young man said once the door closed.

The tall man looking at the closed door grunted in annoyance born from weeks of running on circles.

His partner chuckled nervously, "Ah ha ha, I mean-."

"I know what you mean, Raidou. One step forward, two steps back," Fujita interrupted him and was in the process of pulling out a cigarette but he stopped when Raidou started to protest. The young man pointed apologetically at a sign above them that looked down mockingly at Fujita. "Fine, fine," he growled, putting the cigarette away. "Did the forensics find anything at all?"

Raidou consulted a file, leafing through it with practiced ease. "No sir. No signs of sexual assault or drugs of any king in any of the girls, and in Takanashi-san's case no sign of injury at all."

"While the Kuroi girl was put through a grinder," Fujita finished with a sour expression. Raidou couldn't help wincing at the memory of the report of the injuries. "It's likely they didn't need her and were trying to get rid of her. Luckily she fought her way out and was strong enough to take the Takanashi girl with her."

"But what could they have needed Takanashi-san for?"

"Nobody tried to contact the family, every single lead we had so far has turned out a bust, and now neither of the girls remember anything whatsoever about their abductions," Fujita closed his eyes, knowing his partner would have wanted to go through all of that so he decided to cut it before it began. "Any trace on Kuroi's injuries?"

"No, sir, which is actually kinda odd. It is obvious what many of these injuries were caused with when they restrained Kuroi-san, and the signs of the beatings are very clear, but it is almost as if the injuries themselves simply appeared, there's no transference at all on any of the injuries, not even those that managed to break the skin..."

"Just like those murders a few months ago. But it is a completely different M.O., the targets are all wrong and even the injuries and weapons involved don't match."

"Say, sir, maybe, well just maybe, is it possible the Takanashi girl was involved on this? I mean, could she have staged this to attack the Kuroi girl? Could she be a copycat?"

Fujita sighed deeply, forcing himself to consider for a moment the possibility that the Takanashi girl had been the cause of this whole mess and specifically of those injuries. It was a very brief moment.

"Don't be an idiot, Raidou! Go buy some coffee!" Fujita growled and started to walk away.

It was too convenient that she hadn't been hurt at all while her friend had remained standing only through sheer will, but there was no indication Takanashi had used any kind of weapon or manipulated the chains that had bound Kuroi. Then there were the looks of devotion and affection the two girls had been sharing through the entire interview. Try as he might, Fujita had a hard time thinking any of them both abusing that trust and devotion in any way, and both girls appeared to be sound of mind.

"Yes sir! Though... maybe... somebody hypnotized her to-!"

"... Now you're really pushing it."

* * *

><p>The place was... unnerving to say the least. It was so clean, so spotless, so... not dusty. There was no indication that anybody had been recently in the building but everything felt as if it were ready to be used.<p>

Unfortunately she still had no idea what to do with anything the hospital had to offer.

The smell was starting to give her an headache too.

It was too clean.

She walked down a corridor and found a humanoid presence in front of an empty room. The white being looked at her for a moment before turning back towards the open door. She stared for a moment before walking again until she was within arms reach of the other being. She passed behind the being of light, not even bothering to look at what made the room worth so of interest and the being ignored her just the same.

She made her way down some stairs and once reaching the bottom step she stopped. There was a faint trace in the air... Eyes closed, she lifted her nose and took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. She looked on down a corridor where a sign showed a fork, knife and a plate.

"… Cafeteria," she whispered, managing to inflict a tone of almost eagerness in her otherwise deadpan voice.

She ignored the presence climbing up the stairs behind her, the one that led to a dark, lower floor. She didn't care for how the blade in his hand was carving a trail on the wall as it stalked towards her, or the way his eyes glared hungrily in her direction.

There was a more important thing in her opinion.

* * *

><p>From their side on the room, Kurenai smiled as Tomomi-san and Masao-san dotted on Yomi-chan. The young lady was fine by all accounts, beyond a little exhaustion the first day she was just as healthy as she had always been. Yomi even tried to tell her parents as much, but they were parents, it was their job to fuss over their daughter after what they had gone through.<p>

Speaking of which.

"Is there anything else you want, Mato?" she asked her daughter, giving her a look to keep the little girl from sitting up.

While Yomi was in perfect health Mato was far from it, no matter how much she insisted it didn't hurt anymore.

"I just want to get out of here," she said with a little pout.

"Don't worry, you'll leave soon enough, then you can catch up with everything you've been missing at school!"

"Awww, mom!"

A chuckle from the other side of the room got the Kuroi girls' attention and they looked at the Takanashi family giving them friendly smiles.

"Don't worry, Mato-chan," Tomomi said with her daughter's gentleness, "you will manage."

"Of course, you could catch up even faster if you started studying here," Yomi's father added with a teasing tone.

Mato made an alarmed face and then looked at Yomi for support. "Yooomi!"

The tall girl giggled in amusement, smiling even brighter than before. Kurenai's heart warmed when she noticed how her daughter's face just lit up with happiness at the sight of Yomi's joy, but decided to not comment on it.

"Mom, dad, don't bully Mato. She isn't feeling well," she told them gently -Mato made little whimpering noises, pulling the sheets under her chin-, but the smile turned on a bit mischievous as she turned back to Mato. "Don't worry, Mato, I'll help you study all you want while we are here."

"Now now, Yomi, if you do that she will never learn!" Kurenai said with a big smile at Mato's dismayed 'Mom!'. "She's a big girl after all."

"I can at least bring her homework," Yomi offered with a smile. Kurenai was about to protest since she knew Tomomi and Masao didn't really want their daughter moving around the city on her own, but Mato spoke again before Kurenai could say anything.

"Nah, it's okay, Yomi. If you want to study with me, I'll ask Yuu to bring us the homework we have been missing so far!" she told her innocently in a cheerful tone.

Yomi immediately recoiled as if struck.

"Y-Yomi, are you okay?" Mato inquired in a worried tone and Kurenai held her down with a hand on the shoulder when the young girl attempted to get out of her bed, probably trying to go to her friend's side.

"N-no... no, Mato, nothing is wrong..."

Now that was incredibly unconvincing. Had something happened between Yomi and Yuu? Mato always held them both in the highest regard, but she wasn't the brightest bulb of the bunch so she may have missed something between the other two girls.

"Really, Yomi?" Mato asked in a tone of concern that Kurenai wasn't used to hearing from her oldest child.

Before her parents could inquire about it, Yomi blinked, her brow furrowing a little as if she were puzzling something.

"Yes, it would be fine if Yuu brings us our homework," Yomi said slowly, as if she were testing her words. "I am even further behind in school after all, and you can help me with everything you studied in class," she said with a smile that gradually turned honest at the prospect of studying with Mato.

Her daughter's expression was doubtful for a moment but soon she gave Yomi a toothy grin, making the other girl smile in relief. "Yeah!"

"Well, now that that's settled, would you like some food, girls?" Masao asked.

"Oh, yes please!" Mato said, looking at the man as if he were her lifesaver. "I'm starving!"

"Mato!" quietly Kurenai chided her daughter under the chuckles from the Takanashi family but she stopped when she noticed the earnest look Mato was giving her. "Okay, okay. Let's see if there's anything good on the cafeteria, Tomomi."

The other mother rose along with Kurenai and both were already by the door when Tomomi gave her husband a meaningful look and he started a little. "Oh, let me help you with that!"

The three adults were just starting to close the door behind them, so they could see Yomi all but jumping off her bed to go sit next to Mato.

* * *

><p>Steel shrieked as the man tried to slash her, but she kept her cannon between them. No matter how hard the specter tried to cut her apart, the cannon wasn't showing any hint of damage whatsoever.<p>

Which was convenient since she had to deal with a woman too, one with hair so long it sprawled over the floor, covering her face so only a little trace of her eye was visible. This one had come from another door, crawling over the floor and walls like some sort of insect with her head twisted in very unusual ways.

Odd. Why did the neck not break while doing that? She made a point of remembering that.

She stiffened, looking down the corridor, behind the woman with the large claws, in direction of the cafeteria. She felt something unusual and so very familiar brushing past her. For some reason, she could feel it was something very dear to her too but she couldn't tell what.

Looking at the man still trying to cut through her cannon and the woman who was trying to claw her arm off, she decided it had been long enough.

There was the sound of shattering glass and the man suddenly fell to the ground, cut in half just as the woman was tossed through a window after getting half her head cut off. The monstrous cannon had morphed around her hand, turning into a simple sword with a blue edge, the right size to be used with ease in the corridor without problems.

She nonchalantly looked down at the pieces of the monster that she had killed and then towards the broken window. She picked the torso and legs and promptly dumped them through the shattered window. No need to litter the place, specially after she had already dirtied it with her fight.

She turned around, intent on picking up the slice of skull when she noticed several beings in matching uniforms had gathered around her. They all looked at her as one and she returned the look, tilting her head to the side. They looked down at the scars of battle and then back at her; she mimicked their actions, tilting her head to the other side.

Then they moved in a flurry of activity, using brooms, rags and all kind of tools to return the place to its original pristine state in a matter of seconds. They moved in a perfectly synchronized waltz, somehow managing to never bump against each other or cause any other disturbance than the soft sound of their tools. She had problems trying to follow their actions and she wondered idly if they only moved like that for something like this.

There was a long moment of silence that she broke with a quiet: "Sorry."

The beings bowed a little and then left the area, as silent as they had arrived, leaving the place looking as if nothing had happened in that corridor.

She took in her surroundings and, after two seconds of consideration, she pragmatically decided she didn't care enough.

She had another place to go and... and there was that presence she had felt before, moving in direction of the cafeteria too.

Her stomach made a painful movement, reminding her of more important things that needed taking care of.

* * *

><p>"You really are hungry, aren't you?" Yomi asked wonderingly with a happy giggle, holding the fork in front of Mato.<p>

"Hmmm, I can't help it," Mato replied, catching with her mouth the morsel that Yomi had teasingly been keeping just outside her reach. Mato made a very, very happy noise that brought a rosy tint to Yomi's cheeks, and then looked up at her friend with a silent request.

"You're not usually this hungry," Yomi noted, offering more of her meal.

"I know," Mato said, licking her lips, "It's just, everything tastes just so much better for some reason," she let out a content sigh as Yomi put the plate away.

"Will you get used to having me feed you like this?" Yomi asked with a teasing smile.

"It was nice," Mato admitted with a toothy grin, making Yomi smile gently. "Actually, it is... it is very nice, Yomi."

Yomi blinked at the solemn tone Mato was using. "Mato?"

"It feels like ages since we ate together," Mato said, looking intently into Yomi's eyes. The green eyed girl felt breathless for a moment before she looked away.

"We haven't eaten together for a while," Yomi muttered, catching herself a little to late to keep the upset from her voice.

"I-I know!" the shorter girl said quickly, reaching her hand to take Yomi's. "I don't like that, Yomi. I want to eat with you again like before. I can do anything if we can eat together again."

Yomi felt a little sting in her chest when Mato said that. She put a hand over her breast, wondering why it seemed to remind her of something...

_**-Watery eyes and a blue flame looked up, brimming with sadness and determination, holding within a promise. "I'll do anything you ask me to. **Anything!_**"-**

But she quickly shook it off. "Me too Mato. I'll do my best so we can spend more time together."

"I'd like that," her friend told her with a beautiful smile that made Yomi sigh inwardly. "I really, really missed doing things like this with you, Yomi. Maybe this is why everything tasted so much better. How do I say it? You make me feel good like that," she chuckled, making Yomi chuckle and blush at the same time.

It felt so good to just being like this together with Mato _**-even if she'd eventually hurt me again-**_ even if the circumstances were far from stellar.

"Mato, what are you doing?" Yomi inquired, seeing her friend starting to sit up.

"Mom put the cellphone on that table," Mato replied as if it were the most obvious thing.

In Yomi's opinion, the most obvious thing was Mato trying to exert herself in her condition. "Young lady, you're supposed to stay put until the doctors say you're okay."

"I am okay," Mato whined, giving Yomi an adorable pout that put all kind of really-not-good ideas in Yomi's mind. "Trust me Yomi, I know my own body."

Before the regal girl could say anything Mato kicked up her legs under the covers, sending the sheets flying off and then used the momentum to sit up. Giving Yomi one of those smiles that made the green eyed girl's heart race, Mato hopped off her bed and made her way towards her cellphone. Yomi rushed after her friend just in time to catch her as Mato tripped on her own feet.

"Mato!" she cried out in alarm, barely managing to slip her arms around Mato's waist.

The shorter girl gave her a tired smile and an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry Yomi."

"Muuh, Mato, don't scare me like that," she scowled her in a worried voice, looking down with imploring eyes.

Mato reached an arm around Yomi's waist, giving her a little squeeze. "I'll try, I'll try."

"Be more careful, please. What would I tell your mom if you have more injuries while you're under my care?" Yomi said trying her hardest to ignore how Mato's innocent gesture made butterflies do all kind of aggravating things in her stomach. "What did you need your cellphone for anyway?"

"Oh, I had to call Yuu, of course!" Mato said with the same friendly and happy tone she had use for Yomi all this while.

Yomi stumbled for a moment, almost sending both girls to the ground.

"You okay?" Mato asked in concern, looking Yomi in the eyes.

For a moment she felt her chest clenching and closed her eyes in a pained expression but Mato's presence was comforting, it reassured her _**-You promised to do anything I wanted- **_and reminded her of why the two girls were in a hospital room.

Mato had risked her life for her.

Mato wouldn't just abandon her.

"Do you want want to start with your homework that badly?" she teased and Mato mock groaned.

"Don't remind me. I want to let Yuu know how we're doing-."

"Tell her of the homework."

"-and ask her how she's doing," Mato finished, pretending she didn't hear Yomi interrupting her.

Helping Mato sit on her bed Yomi then sat next to her tomboy friend, brushing away a few stray strands from Mato's face. As Mato waited for Yuu to pick up the phone, Yomi couldn't help thinking about how Yuu had grown closer to Mato while Yomi had started to spend less and less time with her best friend. Yomi had really believed Mato was replacing her, and it hurt a little knowing Mato wanted to talk with Yuu despite having Yomi right here at her side.

She felt so foolish now, knowing the lengths Mato was ready to go to for Yomi's sake.

Mato put the phone between them as somebody picked up the phone on the other side.

"Hello? Hey, Yuu! It's Mato and Yomi!"

* * *

><p>She unwrapped another sandwich, tearing through the food with something that could be considered "gusto" if expressions were any easier to appear on her face. As it was she simply closed her eyes, making a content sound as she devoured another sandwich.<p>

Her trip to the cafeteria had provided her with several vending machines that were promptly raided for food. Once she had taken everything she could she started to look for the other presence that had passed her by before, but she could find no trace of it again. A part of her was disappointed about it, but the rest of her simply didn't care.

As she left the cafeteria she let her blue flame dance on her hands and she then started to massage the wounds she got from rescuing Yomi. She wasn't completely sure why but she could feel the pain lessening and the damage being removed after a while but it was a slow process.

Before she had been able to do that in the spur of the moment to a great degree, but now the exercise had taken hours and more energy than was probably necessary. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the conclusion. She would have to work with that.

Once she made it to the stairs she realized that she had no idea what to do now. She had come trying to find a way to learn how to use the medical supplies on her home, but there was nobody who could teach her. Some of the specters hadn't cared for her presence and the vast majority had tried to attack her for some reason.

She wasn't going to find the answers in there then.

She looked over to one of the windows and noticed the sun setting. Bored eyes looked up the stairs and she decided to look for a place to sleep. For some reason, the food from the vending machines had been more filling than the toast from earlier, but she still felt more lethargic. Healing herself was taking more energy than she would have liked.

She climbed several floors and walked aimlessly through the corridors until she found an open door. It was no different from all the other rooms but something called out for her and so she walked in, finding a relatively large room with a pair of beds and another door leading towards what appeared to be a bathroom.

After several beats of silence, she shrugged off most of her clothes and boots, placed her blade against the wall next to one of the beds and then climbed into said bed. She looked intently at the sheets and pillow, something about them was awfully attractive for some reason, but she didn't care much to find out what. She just knew that she liked that bed so she curled under the covers, finding just the right spot to rest her head against the pillow and relaxed.

She really liked that bed. It made her think of certain green eyes for some reason.

* * *

><p>Mato made sure she was completely alone -Yomi's dad had accompanied her to some tests and their moms were talking again with the detectives-, before making her move.<p>

Making sure to stand up slowly this time -no need to get dizzy again- she walked towards the bathroom.

Like hell she was going to let the nurses help with that! Especially not with Yomi around.

While she kept telling everybody she felt felt fine she would freely admit she was also feeling throughly sore, but not enough to justify everybody else's panic every time she tried to move! Okay, so she had some problems lifting her arms above her head or pulling her legs over the bed, so what? She only needed to be creative.

Getting out of the bandages was another good idea. It was like a mummy costume and it was itchy all over!

* * *

><p>She suddenly woke up and raised her head, drowsily looking around. There were four blinks before she decided to stand up.<p>

After checking the side of her thigh she blinked in confusion. She could feel some soreness on her leg but she couldn't tell what could have hit her. Had something hit her at all?

She shrugged a little, not giving it any importance since it wasn't life threatening or even that distracting. She stretched her back, no longer tired enough to keep on sleeping but there was really nothing to be done and she didn't feel like looking for something to do.

Well, she could go looking for more food, food was always good, but that required picking up her weapon and going downstairs.

… Something told her that she needed to put on her clothes too to go downstairs, but for the life of her she couldn't tell why. The weather wasn't particularly harsh to warrant providing extra protection to her body in her opinion. How odd.

She looked towards the little bathroom and she tilted her head. There was probably water from the faucets in there, right? She was feeling slightly thirsty...

* * *

><p>"And that's that," Mato let out a content sigh, proud that she had only fallen once during the whole thing!<p>

She made her way to the sink to rest a little, rubbing her leg. It had actually hurt so she didn't feel bad for wanting to ask Yomi to give her leg a massage later on.

She washed her hands and then her face, enjoying the touch of the cool water. Feeling throughly refreshened she looked up to her reflection with a giant smile.

Her reflection wasn't smiling.

… It wasn't really looking at her either.

"What the...," Mato whispered as she watched the Mato in the mirror leaning forward to cup her hands under the faucet and drink from the running water.

She reached a hand forward to touch the mirror, not really understanding what was going on. Her reflection suddenly looked up and Mato let out a gasp.

Her face was so pale it looked white... no, scratch that, it was white! Her hair was _long_, like it could probably reach the floor if it wasn't tied in a messy ponytail. Her eyes looked wrong for some... were those white rings in her eyes? They were! And instead of a little black dot there was a little light that reminded her of a flame... and she was naked...

Her reflection reached a hand up to touch Mato's from the other side of the mirror and she stood straighter up.

Whoa, she was tall, even taller than Yomi...

"Mato?" her other asked in a voice that was a whisper of a growl and the girl felt her heart jumping to her throat.

She raised her other hand, leaning against the cool surface of the mirror trying to get a better look of the pale girl, trying to look at every inch of the other Mato.

_No, not me, you're not Mato... _

"Rock... Black Rock..."

_**Continuará**_

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

You thought I was going to let Mato forget about what happened? They just needed a moment to recover, now they can go back to have more Otherworld adventures.

Dead Master and the other Otherselves will be appearing soon, but first I needed to introduce the rest of the characters. If you have been following Battle Fantasia Project over SpaceBattles you probably recognize some of the characters already and know what's coming in the near future.

What Otherselves you think are going to appear, or hope they do, in the future?

So far, I have been writing chapters of around 4500 to 5k words, how do you like the length so far? How are you liking the length so far?

Now for the reviews:

Huke's fan: glad you enjoyed the previous chapter and don't mind the way I'm writing the characters so far. Good eye spotting where Rock landed in.

Miss Storyholic: Your review was a breath of fresh air and what got me to get my lazy ass to finish this chapter. Hope you like the characters so far and thanks for the vote of confidence.

Anonymous (can you give a name on the future?): hmmhmmhmm, yeah, nothing is wrong with Yuu at the moment, so Mato and Co can be confident nothing supernatural will happen with Yuu at all... hee hee. Otherworld is probably a boring place unless they have a place to crash in while they wait for the next big fight. There will be more interactions between Mato/Rock and Yomi/DM in the future, but I really don't want to rush things too much.

If you liked the chapter, let me know. If you didn't like it, let me know too. According to Ffnet, around 80 persons read the latest chapters each week, so if you can give a little review, no matter how little is, I'll really appreciate it.

See you soon!


	6. The other me of this world

Before you start reading, go check chapter one if you haven't done so already. Rewrote the whole thing. Chapter 2 will get a makeover later.

Anyway, sorry for the delay. I'll try to keep up a faster schedule.

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 6**

_**The other me of this world**_

**~_Inicio_~**

I don't think I understand this world. Do I have to?

**~Surprised Burning Blue Flame~**

Rock stared for a moment at the girl on the other side of the mirror, a curious tilt on her head, before she nodded minutely. "Mato," the non-girl acknowledged.

The next moment she was enveloped in a tight hug by the small girl who started to ramble about something. She looked up at the mirror and noted the event with a blink for later discussion.

"Rock, you're still hurt," Mato said quietly, hand hovering gingerly over the slash at the non-girl's side. Although the flesh was still pink, it didn't seem to hinder her movements. "And, you're naked," Mato said flatly, as if looking at Rock for the first time.

Rock looked into Mato's eyes and then nodded a fraction.

Mato sort of stared at her for a moment before turning her eyes away. "Y-yeah, you probably know that already," she muttered before perking up again, looking around the bathroom."Huh, I thought it would have been flipped over," Mato said after a moment of examination.

Rock looked at the other girl questioningly.

"Ah, since you were in the mirror and, you know, yeah..." Rock blinked in confusion as Mato trailed off scratching the back of her head. Then Mato brightened up again, looking up at Rock with a smile that seemed to light up the entire room. "Oh yeah, Yomi and I made it safely back!"

"You did," Rock said in relief with a faint smile, feeling a weight in her chest easing up.

**~Scared and Lonely Heart~**

"What do you mean you don't know!"Yomi flinched, looking at the closed door in worry. She could hear the officer stuttering an answer before Miss Kuroi snapped at him. "You were supposed to be looking out for her!" There was another officer trying to say something, but Mato's mom didn't let go. "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to her!"

"Mato..." Yomi whimpered, safely between her parents. _'Where are you?'_

**~A purpose for the Little Heart~**

Mato stood next to the window, looking over a ruined city while Rock was busy putting her clothes on. What few she had. Mato didn't think she would have the guts to go around with just a top and those short shorts. Maybe with the jacket on... closed, though.

She looked over the taller girl, her eyes lingering for a moment in these still fresh scars wondering how Rock could just shrug off any pain she should be feeling. She hadn't even flinched when Mato had hugged her or when they walked back to Rock's room. A room she knew all too well.

"You know, Rock, this is the same room Yomi and I are staying at in the hospital," Mato said but Rock didn't reply. The short haired girl simply smiled, now knowing that that was just Rock's way to do, well, anything. She didn't mean to be mean or offensive about it. "In fact, that bed is the one Yomi uses," Mato pointed out at the bed Rock was sitting on, currently fixing her steel covered boots.

"Really?" Rock whispered, carefully placing a hand over the covers of the bed. Mato smiled warmly at the look of wonder that appeared for a brief moment on Rock's face but she focused on something else about her friend's body.

Namely her breasts. The small size of her breast actually.

Mato looked down to her own body and at what could be generously called ironing board chest. Both of her grandmas and mom were just as _gifted_ as Mato. It seemed it just ran on the family...

"Rock, what's this world?" Mato asked out of the blue and when she had Rock's attention she continued, pointing outside. "I recognize the city. It's my city but broken. This one is all burned up, crumbling down and filled with monsters instead of people, but it's my city. The same with this room and the bathroom. This other world of yours is kind of like mine but different."

There was a moment of silence while Mato and Rock just stared at each other, and Mato could tell her friend didn't know what to say, so she wouldn't say anything. Mato decided to keep on going before she lost her nerve.

She had known all along. Mato felt every step Rock took as if she herself were walking. She could feel how Rock's gloves creaked when they held the black blade. She had felt every single shot from their black cannon shaking Rock's body as if Mato herself were the one firing the monster. She had felt every one of the wounds that Rock had suffered.

She had convinced herself that it wasn't like that, after all Rock was much taller and had hair so long it would be touching the floor if it wasn't tied in a high ponytail, but she couldn't keep denying all the little clues.

"You... you are me, aren't you?"Mato asked quietly as Rock finished with her boots. "The other me of this world?"

The silence stretched for far longer than Mato would have liked and she was ready to go about apologizing for suggesting the idea when Rock lowered her face, holding one of her gloves between her hands.

"I thought I was you."

That stopped her cold in her tracks.

How was she supposed to reply to that? What was she supposed to think or even feel about that? She felt that little ball of doubt and impotence trying to take a hold onto something within her... but the flame within her quickly burned those bad emotions away, leaving only determination to support her friend.

With a nod she sat on the bed in front of Rock. "No wonder you're strong, you have been in this world all those years."

Rock looked up and blinked in confusion. "No." She simply said. Mato was about to press on but an idea struck her. She simply nodded, looking expectantly at Rock and the taller girl blinked in confusion at the unexpected silence before her eyes lit in understanding. "I don't remember much but, it hasn't been a long time," she said and Mato leaned forward, making Rock's cheek color a little at the attention. "I remember the morning I, you- we saw Yomi for the first time."

Mato's eyebrows raised a little. She also remembered that day, as if it had been burned in her mind. She could remember so many little things from back then, what she had been feeling about that mysterious green eyed girl, about the Princess's unusual name, to the nervousness she felt while she worked up her courage to talk to Yomi. It was one of her most beloved memories. Could it be the same for Rock?

"It's been a little over a year then in my world," Mato said and Rock nodded minutely but she didn't elaborate if it had been the same amount of time for her too."Anything before that?" she asked in curiosity.

"Pain," was the nonchalant answer. Before Mato could say anything Rock nodded to herself and continued. "Agony. The feeling of my body slowly mending itself back together after it was torn apart. A wish to stop existing to make the torment stop."

"Huh," Mato managed to mutter, realizing that Rock was just stating that as a matter of fact thing. There was no emotion behind it, but it wasn't as if Rock was trying to hide or pretend she hadn't felt that pain, but rather... as if she didn't give a damn to about it. It wasn't important enough to put any effort in feeling something about it.

Rock was one odd girl.

"But then I remember seeing Yomi's green eyes," Rock continued, managing to sound happy, looking up to the ceiling, "And I wanted to see her again," she nodded, looking at Mato.

_Now, there's an emotion and a good one_, the shorter girl noticed with a smile. As subtle as it was, Mato could tell how dear the memory was for her friend.

Rock was about to stand up, but she stopped. Mato looked on with curiosity as flames burst around Rock's hand and then she passed said hand over a spot over her bare leg. Mato could see a greenish bruise under the blue fire, and the dark spot started to shrink little by little until there was nothing more.

"Need a hand with that?" Mato asked with a bright smile.

**~Hardworking Heart~**

"And these are for Takanashi-san. Her class representative sent them an hour ago."

"Thanks, Junko-san," Yuu said, gathering the folders in her backpack.

"It's a pleasure, Yuu-chan," the bespectacled girl replied with a smile. "It's wonderful to hear Kuroi-san and Takanashi-san are finally back."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"By any chance did they mention when will they come back to the school?"

"Dunno yet, I'll check on them today but Yomi was supposed to be pretty much fine and was just resting from the whole thing."

"You didn't mention Kuroi-san."

"Hmm, well, they told me Mato had been beaten pretty badly," she nodded as Junko-san gasped in surprise, "but when I talked with her yesterday she sounded as fresh as ever. I could even hear Yomi telling her to stop messing around, so if Mato is in good enough health to have Yomi chasing after her she can't be that bad."

"Hmm, maybe. Although Kuroi-san isn't the type of girl who listens when being told to stay still," Junko-san pointed out and Yuu couldn't help chuckling.

"Got that right."

"So, then the rumors about the happy couple are true, Minamino-chan?" a new voice said from the entry of the office, startling both girls. They turned to see a short haired with an old recorder in hand, the kind that used those little tapes. "Or were the other rumors true about the happy couple finally coming back from their honeymoon?"

"None of your business," Yuu told her flatly, trying her hardest to not snap at the bitch who had started and then helped spread most of the other rumors about Yomi and Mato.

"Wasn't talking to you, shorty. So, Class Rep, is it true then?"

"I have nothing to say at the moment," Junko-san replied, not even bothering to look at the other girl. Yuu flashed a little smile to Junko-san. "Take care, Yuu-san."

"I will, I will. Thanks again, bye bye!"

Yuu rushed past the annoying reporter wannabe and almost ran face first against another girl. She looked up, and up and up some more to see a pair of annoyed wine colored eyes looking down at her.

"At least you didn't crash this time," the tall girl told her and Yuu blinked in confusion.

She noticed a digital camera hanging off the girl's neck and remembered what had happened the previous day. "Ah, sorry, I wasn't looking."

"I could tell," the other girl replied dryly but she took a step back, letting Yuu make a run for it.

She had two friends to visit after all.

**~Little Heart~**

"_Rock, Rock!"_ Mato screamed in fear.

"Yes?" the other girl replied nonchalantly.

If she could, Mato would have looked at Rock in disbelief. Since she was currently hitching a ride inside Rock's body she could only scream as the huge dude with the giant gardening scissors came barreling down on them and Rock didn't seem to notice him screaming bloody murder!

Of course, when the big scary guy was just two steps away from them was when Rock casually kicked the monster nurse through the ceiling, spun their arm back to cut off the big guy's arms off and then turned around to just casually bring down their blade, cutting the guy in half. All the way from the top of the head down to... there, yeah.

"Help... me..."Mato's _head_ slowly turned around and she just stared. Five long seconds later she finally managed to pull her eyes away from the zombie like doctor, covered in this green goo with lots of almost black goo coming out of his ear, nose, mouth and **eyes**.

It was like the victims from Infection. She hated that movie. She hated it a lot. She hated it, hated it!

_This is what I get for asking her what she likes to do for fun! _Sure, eating sounded like something normal, but she hadn't expected the entire hospital to be filled with all kind of monsters from movies and old stories!

"_R-Rock, how many monsters did you say you killed earlier today?" _

The other girl was busy cleaning up their blade, not even pretending she noticed the shuffling zombie doc approaching from their left.

That was something that she had noticed before during their fight against the dark Yomi, but she hadn't really thought much of it. Rock could be focusing on something in front of them while Mato was checking around them, almost as if she still had her body and was looking this and that way. Shouldn't she just be able to see what Rock saw?

"Many," Rock finally replied, casually sitting down on a bench and started to unwrap another sandwich.

"_Many as in more than one, right?" _Mato asked wearily and Rock replied with a little happy sound as she chewed a delicious, if slightly odd tasting, turkey sandwich. "_Aaaand less than how many?"_

Rock stopped on her chewing and looked up, ignoring the doctor still moaning and shuffling towards them. "I lost count," she said and Mato could almost hear an apologetic note in there. _Almost._

Mato was about to say something when she saw the nearby stairs being covered in black and she stared for a moment before finally realizing that it wasn't just any black paint or something like that. It was the black of stupidly long strands of black hair. Just like the hair of all those damned onryo.

There she was! Crawling down the stairs, head looking to the ground and the hair moving with a life of its own.

… Why did it have to be monsters from horror movies?

"_Didn't you like fighting?"_Mato asked, wondering why Rock wasn't just rushing to kill those things that **so obviously were trying to kill them instead!**

The answer was more than a little surprising.

"These are not fights. They are boring."

Rock whipped out her blade, which morphed into their cannon in the same movement, and she opened fire. A single bullet, as big as a car, engulfed the zombie and blasted him through the outer wall. The long haired girl looked at the onryo and a blue flame flared from her left eye, setting the long hair in flames and quickly reducing the ghost woman into bright white embers.

Rock then kept on chewing.

"_You really liked fighting against that other Yomi" _Mato noted, remembering just how _excited _Rock had gotten during their first attempt at getting Yomi to come back with them. After a few moments of silence Mato felt like bashing her head against a wall when she realized Rock had suddenly stopped eating.

"I did..." the other girl replied in a quiet tone before she tossed the rest of the sandwich in her mouth.

"_You haven't seen her again?" _she asked, truly curious. Rock simply shook her head no. "_Well, she was pretty darn strong, I'm sure she's still out there, maybe you will find her again. Who knows, maybe you could see her tomorrow or sooner!"_ she tried to cheer Rock up, and judging by the way the flame on their eye flared, she had managed some success.

"Sorry," Rock muttered to the crew of janitors that immediately showed up to clean up the mess of her... "not fights".

"_Do they always show up?" _

"Only here."

"_Huh, those guys really don't waste their time- oh crud... oh crud! Oh crud crud crud!"_if she could, Mato would have been running around in panic.

"Mato?"

"_How long have we been here?"_

_**~Burning Blue Flame~**_

"Again," Rock muttered, slowing to a walk near their destination. It was that essence again, that familiar and-.

"_Mom?" _Mato gasped, making Rock stop.

The pale girl blinked a couple times before realizing that indeed that essence felt just like Mom's. But there was something different now. Her flame was shrouded in a cold emotion.

"_Oh crud, I messed up. I messed up!"_ Mato whimpered and Rock tilted her head in inquiry.

"Why?"

"_I was supposed to be resting in the room! Dang, Mom is worried... she's very worried I can feel her almost crying..." _

Rock made a little noncommittal sound and Mato replied with a frustrated one. "These essences... three more... and Yomi's?" Rock inquired. There was something about Yomi's presence that was slightly off, something that made the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end.

"_Yomi, she's sad too... damn they must think I got kidnapped now! Okay Rock, let's hurry and-, wait, no, I can't just appear in the bathroom!" _Rock tilted her head to the other side. "_Ugh, just go back to that balcony, I can't feel anybody there." _

"Mato, I have been meaning to ask," Rock said out of the blue, still walking in the direction her passenger had requested. "How are you going to go back to your world?"

**~_Naive Little Heart_~**

"That was easier than I thought," Mato muttered to herself, looking behind her at the open window, confirming that indeed there was a blue sky, the buildings were whole and people and not monsters filled the streets.

Taking a deep breath she turned around and rushed back to her room, ready to face her imminent death sentence.

She could see it now, grounded for the rest of her life!

Mom intercepted her in a crushing hug, and Mato fell breathless for a moment. Her chest felt as if it were about to burst, feeling a flood of emotions washing from her mom. Anger, disappointment, but above it all worry, relief and a joy that was so warm Mato could almost feel moisture in her eyes. Without thinking about it, her arms came up, hugging back with all her strength, holding on to her mother for dear life, as she whispered heartfelt apologies.

"I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling her chest painfully twisting. "I just wanted to take a walk, I-."

"You were supposed to rest, Mato!" Mom scowled her, hugging her even tighter.

"I know, I know, Mom. I didn't mean to make you worry. It's not the cop's fault, I sneaked out on my own. I'm sorry, Mom."

"You will be, you're grounded for the rest of the year!"

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Mom, don't get mad at Mato," the girl blinked in surprise, pulling back just enough to see Hiro walking towards them from her and Yomi's room.

"Hiro?" Mom must have sent for him when Mato failed to appear."N-no, it's okay, I messed up," Mato said in a little voice, holding out an arm for her little brother, clinging to her family with all her strengths.

"Don't scare us like that again, Mato," Mom whispered in a quiet voice that made Mato's stomach twist before warmth spread through her chest.

An idea struck her and Mato closed her eyes, _'Rock! Are you there?'_

"**Y-yes," **came the quiet reply, managing to sound as surprised as Mato felt that it had actually worked.

_Are you feeling this? _Mato asked, feeling the warmth in her chest flaring for a moment and she knew. She could feel Rock almost smiling even though both were in different worlds.

"Mato!" she heard Yomi say and she looked over Hiro's head at her elegant friend rushing outside too, a look of relief washing away the worry and fear from Yomi's face.

Mato felt her stomach dropping to the floor.

_Oh shit... _

_**What is it?**_

_Don't you remember? I'm the reason Yomi decided to go to the other world!_

… _**Oh.**_

**~_Final_~**

You gotta know the rules of this world, Rock! It's your home!

**~_CONTINUARA_~**

AN:

There we go, the beginning arc is finally coming to an end and Mato is ready to go back into Otherworld on her own.

I know, things have been slow, but some ground needed to be laid down before we can have some adventures. Even though Mato and Rock had a running start, now they need to learn how to keep on running. They will stumble a little, but they are in the right path.

Also, as you can see, Mato also remembered that little detail the Other Yomi brought up during their private moment. It will totally not mess with her head. Not at all.

Anyway, thanks to all the new readers, thanks for the reviewers and special thanks once again to IzanagiMikoto for doing the beta work on this thing.

If you have any input, let me know. Suggestions are always appreciated.

Also, already seen the new trailer for the anime? Dead Master with a wedding veil is both creepy and adorable. Gives a whole new level to Dead Master being born from Yomi's feelings towards Mato. I had been working with Dead Master's original look in my mind, but the anime and Innocent Souls is giving me ideas, hee hee


	7. I'm not overreacting! I am not, really!

There we go, this was supposed to go with the previous chapter, but I felt it was getting too long. The Hospital arc is finally coming to an end. Yay! Otherworld shenanigans will start soon.

Once again, thanks for the reviews, thanks to the people who put this story in their favorites, and big thanks to my Beta IzanagiMikoto.

Now, on with the show

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 7**

_**I'm not overreacting! I am not, really! … Okay, maybe a little**_

_**~Inicio~ **_

"I am not sure this is necessary. It doesn't look as bad as you make it out to be, Mato."

_**-Blue Flame- **_

Rock looked down at the instant ramen on the table, waiting for the recommended time before she started eating; she even had the chopsticks ready and all. So she allowed herself a moment to think to kill some time.

Mato had left just an hour ago, moving back to that colorful world. Relief had filled her, knowing her Other could willingly move between worlds and that they could communicate with each other, so none of them would be completely alone ever again.

However, as comfortable as Mato's presence was, Rock couldn't help thinking how odd her Other was.

Mato could worry for the strangest things.

Rock didn't understand the point of wasting time on focusing on such things. Despite the worry, Mato didn't bring them up once they had been dealt with. There was probably no real point on worrying about them then.

She raised a hand and caught the humanoid that had lunged at her by the head. She clenched her hand a little and the humanoid howled, trying to claw at her arm. She raised her other hand to her chin, thinking deeply.

What they both agreed on was Yomi's safety. The mystery of what had happened to their Princess, the trigger of their whole adventure, was still unsolved. There seemed to be no other consequence other than their fight with the Other Yomi, so Rock expected things to continue like that. Mato however wanted to find out more about it as soon as possible, but Mato being Mato, didn't seem to be all that productive about it.

Rock raised her foot and then brought it down on the creature that had tried to bite her ankle. A little pressure and the creature's movement turned frantic.

She reached within herself and did as Mato had told her to, trying to reach Mato's _voice._

'**No, it wasn't that. Couldn't be the homework, I have been doing my homework on my own lately… The basketball Club? No, Yuu always makes sure I left with her so we wouldn't keep Yomi waiting… But lately we've been talking so much about basketball and kept Yomi out of the conversation… No, it couldn't… or could it…?'**

Rock sighed quietly and cut the link.

The woman at her right slashed her blade towards Rock's head. Rock lifted the humanoid in other hand and used it like a club to bat the woman away. She stomped on the creature under her foot and it finally stopped wriggling about.

Mato needed to focus. All that disproportionate worry only made her waste time. If Yomi were to be taken into the Other World again, they would notice the signs in time. There was nothing that indicated that Yomi was even displeased, quite the contrary actually, but Mato insisted on worrying about it regardless.

Once Mato had calmed down a little, Rock would remind her about that darkness that had surrounded Yomi the days before she went into Otherworld. Surely Mato still remembered that and be on the lookout for any change.

She looked up at the clock and noticed the recommended time was finally over so Rock took the cup of instant ramen and removed the cover, snapped her chopsticks, and started to eat. It had a good taste and consistence. It seemed using the heat of her cannon to heat up water had been good enough to do the trick while she had been looking for a microwave. She knew where the microwave was at their house, so she only needed to look for more instant ramen before they moved back home..

… Maybe that's where the Other Yomi was hiding… Home...

Hopefully.

Rock felt her chest throbbing a little, thinking about those glowing green eyes.

**_~Heart of a Huntress~_ **

Fingers quickly tapped on the keyboard, bringing up another tab on the browser.

"Where..." she looked down to the file at the side of her computer, double checking the case number. "Okay, here it is..." The file finally loaded, showing up the usual nonsense in this type of archives.

She brought up the attached files, looking for the forensic photos.

"Kuroi, huh?" she muttered, focusing for a moment on the full body photo that had been taken of the girl before she was given to the doctors care. "She disappeared the same day we felt that flare," she muttered, reaching out for a cup of coffee.

She scrolled up a few pages and then brought up the original kidnapping case of the Takanashi girl.

"Yes, it's the same thing. Their miraculous return matches even the hour you felt it."

A distracted nod and a gobbled down cookie later she leaned back on her seat, opening the attached photos on Takanashi's file.

"Who do you think will get to play dead girl in our hands?"

She started to close files, just pausing to write down some last moment information.

"Not yet. You can maim her all you want though. We'll need her mostly coherent to answer some questions. Can't get answers out of a bloody slab of meat," she said casually, taking another zip of her coffee.

_**~Little Heart~**_

Yuu looked into the room, content just seeing her friends talking and laughing about something. She could feel a smile on her own face as Mato said something to make Yomi smile and then Yomi said something that made Mato flinch and start apologizing. Yep, seemed everything was back to normal.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, pushing the door open and knocking on it at the same time. She chuckled when both of the girls jumped a little before settling down close to each other again.

"Yuu, I didn't think you'd come so soon!" Mato said as she swung her legs off the bed, rising into a sitting position next to Yomi.

"You'd have to tie me down to keep me from visiting you, girls," Yuu replied, taking the chair next to Mato's bed. "Besides, I brought gifts!"

"Really?" Mato perked up, and Yuu couldn't help chuckling evilly.

"Oh yes, about a week's worth of homework!" she said, presenting a pair of folders with a flourish.

Mato immediately deflated while Yomi took the folders, leafing through them. The smallest girl noticed the peculiar look on their elegant friend's face, and Yuu leaned forward. "Is there a problem?"

Yomi started a little, causing Mato to give her a worried look, but the tall girl smiled at both of them, shaking her head a little. "It's just, this is really an entire week's worth of homework," she said quietly. "I was really gone for so long…"

"But you're back now, Yomi," Mato immediately replied, one hand holding one of Yomi's hands, and draping her other arm around Yomi's waist in one smooth movement. Yuu blinked at this and even Yomi was a little surprised at the vehemence in Mato's voice. "Nobody will take you away again."

"Yeah, we'll make sure it stays that way," Yuu chirped, wondering what had happened, before chiding herself for such silly thought. Of course something had happened. Mato was just being a little overprotective at the moment, but who wouldn't? Yuu herself had wanted to visit the hospital right away and see with her own eyes that her friends were indeed fine, but she still had to put up with school.

"Yes, thank you," Yomi finally replied after a moment of silence, giving them a little smile. "Thank you both," she said towards Yuu.

"Oh didn't I say I was bringing gifts?" Yuu remembered after the little solemn moment had passed. She showed a little plastic bag that emanated a delicious aroma.

"Ooooh, your mom made us lunch?" Mato said, looking as if she wanted to stand up and trying to figure out how she could do while taking Yomi with her. Silly Mato.

"That she did! Just a little something, I wasn't sure if you girls would have had something to eat already or not."

"I don't mind!" Mato was almost salivating now. Yuu was more than a little surprised by this.

"What do they feed you in this hospital? Mist?"

"Mato seems to have grown something of an appetite while she slept," Yomi said sternly, but Yuu wasn't fooled even for a second. It was painfully obvious the green eyed girl was trying to keep a straight face.

"I-I'm sorry, Yomi," Mato replied contritely, causing both Yuu and Yomi to stare at Mato in confusion.

"You can have my part if you want to," she said seriously.

Yuu shifted her gaze to Yomi.

'_The heck happened?'_

'… **She happened…'**

Her thoughts must have been obvious because Yomi immediately did a double take. "Mato, I was-."

"I really didn't mean to eat so much of your food before!"

"Mato, Yomi's just kidding with you," Yuu interrupted before Mato could say anything. "You're our little glutton," Yuu said with a big smile. "We're happy feeding you."

Mato still looked at Yomi, almost as if asking her permission to believe she hadn't done anything wrong.

'_Again, what the hell happened?_

"Anyway, thank you, Yuu," Yomi said, putting her hand over Mato's knee. Their blue eyed friend finally seemed to catch on that nothing was wrong and she gave them both an embarrassed smile. "It's very kind of your mother."

"Don't worry about it!"

"So, what is it?" Mato said, and Yuu chuckled at the palpable hunger in Mato's voice.

"Just a little bit of everything," she handed them each a big bento.

"This looks expensive," Yomi whispered, looking at her box.

"We didn't have big enough bentos so mom used the boxes we reserve for our special clients," Yuu said with a smile and chuckled at the look of confusion on Yomi's face.

"I never told ya!" Mato said, bumping her closed fist against her open palm. "Yuu's parents own a restaurant, Yomi."

"A darn good one!" Yuu said with a proud smile. "Go on, dig in!"

Soon enough both girls were moaning in delight as they ate the big lunches, and Yuu felt herself smiling happily. Yuu had to admit that Yomi was right; Mato was going through her food as if she hadn't eaten anything on weeks!

"This is delicious, Yuu," Yomi said and Yuu puffed out her chest proudly.

"Of course it is. Why don't we go to my parent's restaurant once you're fine enough to stand up again Mato?"

Mato looked at Yuu for a moment, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's, and then she jumped to her feet. Yomi immediately tried to stop her, but Mato was faster. "I can stand up already! I've been trying to tell everybody that I'm fine."

"Mato…" Yomi said quietly and Mato stiffened again, looking as if she were bracing herself, almost as if she were expecting Yomi to get mad at her. If Yomi didn't look as lost as Yuu felt, the honey eyed girl would have suspected the worst.

"S-sorry, Yomi," she said, sitting back on the bed.

Yuu shared a by now familiar look with Yomi... which caused the green eyed girl to start a little, almost as if she couldn't tell why she was doing so. The confusion quickly faded away, though, and Yomi shrugged helplessly. Yuu drummed her fingers on her knees and then nodded a little.

Judging by how hard Yomi's disappearance had hit Mato, Yuu's little idea sounded more likely by the moment.

"Mato?" she said quietly but sternly and the girl in question looked up in surprise. "You can't still be blaming yourself for what happened to Yomi!" Yuu said, standing up, knuckles against her hips. The trapped look on Mato's face was all the answer Yuu really needed, and judging by the gasp of surprise from Yomi, her elegant friend finally caught on it.

"Mato, you can't blame yourself!" Yomi said and the hurt in her voice was sure to make more effect on Mato than anything Yuu or Yomi could say.

"But Yomi, I..." Mato started but she quickly trailed off, looking to the ground.

Yuu stood up and directed Mato to sit back next to Yomi. "It was nobody's fault, Mato. You don't need to beat yourself over it and Yomi doesn't need to be treated with kiddy gloves. You don't deserve it and Yomi doesn't deserve it either!"

"Yuu's right, Mato. If anything I should be the one doing something for you. You are my hero, Mato!" A blink later Yomi finally realized what she had said and a cute blush covered her face. After a moment of struggling with herself Yomi steeled herself and leaned closer to Mato. "You did nothing wrong at all. If it hadn't been for you, I... I just don't want to think what would have been of me if it wasn't for you, Mato." The tall girl reached out, taking both of Mato's hands in her own and pulling her close. "I owe you so much I may never repay you in full. You are my dearest friend, Mato..."

_'...Whoa, that was intense," _Yuu barely kept herself from whistling. She hadn't seen Yomi act so passionate about anything before, always the proper and elegant ojou. Except when she thought she was alone with Mato of course.

"So, we okay? You won't be a thickheaded fool and accept that you did nothing wrong?" Yuu asked, patting Mato on the head.

"But... okay," their friend replied quietly, eyes still glued on the floor.

'_What's wrong with you Mato?_

**_'She_ is.'**

_**~Desirous Heart~**_

If Yomi had ever needed any further proof that Mato would never abandon her, it was right in front of her, in the form of one little Hiro.

"S-shush you!"

"Big sis just sat there in her room, saying 'Yomi, Yomi, where are you Yomi?', and she would mope and ack!" the flying pillow succeeded in shushing him up.

"I said shush!"

"Yomi-neechan! Yuu-neechan! Mato is being mean!" the little boy ducked behind Yuu.

"You deserve it!" Mato replied, trying to get a good angle around Yuu.

"But I'm just telling what happened!"

"You want another pillow then!"

As brother and sister glared at each other Yuu and Yomi were unable to keep down their mirth and they both laughed at the siblings shenanigans.

"Now now children, calm down," Yuu said in her best impression of a respectable parent. "No fooling around in the hospital."

"Be nice, Hiro-kun," Yomi told the young boy and he immediately nodded.

"Okay, Yomi!"

"Grr, why don't you listen to me?" Mato grumbled and Yomi patted her on the head.

"You only need to act a little more like the big sister you are," she told her with a smile.

Yomi expected Mato to pout and tackle her down on the bed but instead... those eyes, as if Mato expected to have said something that offended Yomi so enough to lash out at her... _**'She would probably deserve it.'**_...

Yomi looked over at Yuu and saw the honey eyed girl looking expectantly back. Yomi hesitated for a moment before shrugging a little, her brow furrowing in worry. Yuu nodded at her, mouthing a _'You can soothe her'_ of encouragement. Yomi's eyes travelled between Mato and Yuu until the shorter girl gave her an exasperated look.

Yomi felt her chest warming up at the knowledge that Yuu... _'__**Expects me to fuck it up'**_**...** trusted her like this.

She reached an arm around Mato's shoulder and pulled her back against the pillow. Mato blinked in surprise a couple times. Yomi gave her a little smile, trying to reassure her before Mato smiled in relief at Yomi.

The elegant girl sighed in relief herself, resting her head against Mato's pillow. She looked around her and couldn't help marveling at the scene around her. Yuu was resting down at the end of Mato's bed, while Yomi and Mato were on the other end under the covers, and Hiro was on a chair next to Yuu, fiddling with the television's control remote, trying to find anime to watch.

The warmth in her chest grew, filling her with an emotion that she had only felt once before. Back in that day when Mato had taken her to look over their gold painted city, when Mato had given her that little and wonderful charm, Mato had told her that she hated the idea of Yomi leaving her.

She hadn't believed it at first, but Mato had made her realize something.

She had a place she belonged to. She had somebody she belonged to. She had friends, true friends!

Even Yuu... Yuu had never been her enemy. Yuu hadn't tried to get Mato to forget her; she hadn't tried to get Mato to replace their friendship. Yuu had never tried to take her place in Mato's heart.

_**'Not like the bitch could have taken my place.'**_

Yuu was... Yuu was her friend too.

She had been there for Mato and Yomi, always trying so hard and Yomi had just expected the worst of her. Just like with Mato, Yomi had thought the worst without thinking it twice.

And Mato was the one acting as if she were the one at fault. How could Yomi even begin to make up for her private sins?

She caught a glimpse of the bag Yuu had packed the bentos in and a idea came to Yomi. It was small, probably insignificant, but at least was a beginning.

"Y-Yuu?" she said tentatively, and Yuu turned around with a smile.

"Yup?"

"Do you think your mom could teach me how to cook?" she was proud her voice didn't crack up at all.

However her spirits crashed down when Yuu winced. "I don't think she could accommodate time outside the restaurant and the kitchen is pretty crazy."

"Oh, I see."

Yuu turned around towards Mato and Yomi, sitting up and crossing her legs in front of her in a single motion. "But I can teach you a few things if you want to!"

"I would love to!"

_**~Worried Heart~**_

'I'm not overreacting!' A long moment of silence replied. 'I am not, really! … Okay, maybe a little, but I still don't know what I did to hurt Yomi like that!'

"**Yomi doesn't remember."**

'But I do!' Mato groaned, pressing a pillow against her face. 'I did something so bad that Yomi escaped to the Other World. What if I do it again without noticing?'

"**Talk to her," **came Rock's simple answer. Mato groaned again. Of course Rock would pick the direct approach.

'Maybe you're right... but I still can't let it go. She called me a liar so maybe it was a promise I broke? I would never lie to Yomi, but I wouldn't break any promise either, especially if it was so important for Yomi.'

"**Mato... I used to think I was you." **

"Huh?"

"**That Other Yomi was like me. My memories used to be clouded." **

"That makes sense," Mato said and then flinched. She looked around the dark room but Yomi didn't seem to have awoken. 'So, maybe what drove Yomi to the Otherworld was something different, but that Other Yomi thought it was because of me?'

"**Possible."**

'Wonder what her name is...'

"**Whose?"**

'That other Yomi. If she's like you, she probably has another name, right? Any idea?'

"**I wonder..." **Rock fell in a thoughtful silence, and Mato decided to let her be for a moment. They would have plenty of time to think about it while they looked for the other Yomi.

Mato pulled the covers over head, moving the pillow around, looking for a better position to rest her head. The nurses kept telling her to not do things like that, but nothing hurt at all! In fact, ever since she returned from the Otherworld she had been better than fine... around the time she helped Rock fix most of her injuries, actually.

'Say Rock?' she heard a little hum in return. 'What are you doing right now?'

"**Resting."**

'And before that? Did you do something around the hospital? Besides eating," she quickly added. Finding food seemed to be Rock's main hobby.

"**... Killed more monsters,"** she replied, almost as if she hadn't really considered fighting monsters all that important.

'Many?'

"**Many."**

'Are there any monsters around the room? Or anywhere around the floor?'

"**I have killed every single monster in the hospital."**

Mato blinked. She blinked again for good measure. "All of them?" She smacked her forehead when she realized she forgot to think rather than speak. 'Even the janitors and those ghost nurses that were cleaning up the rooms and the others?'

"**Only the ones that attacked me... Why?"**

'…I have noticed that there was this... weight around me. In fact it has always been around me and I just noticed it when I saw you today. No, it's more like I noticed that it wasn't there. It had become lighter and lighter during the day and well, I think it had something to do with you.'

"**I don't understand."**

'Well, you went killing monsters in your way to our room, right? That was when I started to _feel lighter_. Then when I returned from Otherworld it was like, way lighter and I could feel so many other things. Good things. It was like, the other feeling, the heavy one, had clouded the good feelings.

'When Mom hugged me, it felt almost as if she were hugging me for the first time in a _long_time, you know? And I could feel her relief and her happiness and how upset she was. And now that you told me that there are no more monsters I can tell _exactly _where you are, Rock. I could feel so many things from Yomi, Yuu, Hiro, Mom and Yomi's parents. Heck, I can even tell where the cops are outside our room!'

"**I don't know, Mato."**

'The entire city is filled with those monsters, Rock. You understand what that means? People may not notice it, but everybody probably feels the same thing that I do, even if it isn't that strongly. That weight felt almost as it were trying to keep me away from everybody around me. Maybe this is why there's been so many accidents and bad stuff going on in the city lately...'

"**You want to make sure?" **

'…Yeah, yeah I do!' she sat up and looked over at the other bed where she could make out the peaceful smile on Yomi's face. If whatever Rock did in the Otherworld was the cause of that smile... 'Tomorrow we can begin figuring out things!'

_**~Final~ **_

"Maybe not, Rock, but I still worry! Can't help it. If we take care of things before they get bad, I would feel much better."

_**~CONTINUARA~ **_

AN:

There we go. Now we will be leaving the Hospital and move to more exciting things.

Next chapter you'll get a look for the rest of the players in this story. From there we will get more action in Otherworld. Thanks for putting up with this story so far, hope you enjoy what's coming.

If you liked the chapter, leave a review, if you didn't like it, leave a review and tell me how I can improve to make things better.


	8. Nobody will take Yomi from me ever again

Well, I said next weekend, right? If I had said the previous weekend, that would make no sense at all... Sorry for the long wait.

I had actually been holding the story until the anime ended to see what could be included in this fic. You know, it feels really nice when ideas I thought up for this fic a year ago turned up to be canon, and it feels even better when nothing in canon outright goes against your original plans.

Also, thanks to all the new people who got this story in their alert list, and all the new reviewers. You guys rock even if you made me feel bad for not updating sooner!

Anyway, for the wait, here the end of the Hospital Arc, a lengthy chapter, and the rest of the characters that will appear in this fic.

-Unbeta'd-

**Black Rock Shooter: Honest Hearts**

**Chapter 8**

**Nobody will take Yomi from me ever again**

**~Inicio~**

Change... it is necessary. We can't remain the same, Mato. We can't keep holding on like that to those things.

_**~Old Flame~**_

Steel tapped rhythmically against checkered floors, the sound filling the oppressive stillness in the large chamber with an almost sooting beat. The pitter patter of bare feet soon accompanied the purposefully march of armored steps, a sharp contrast that didn't seem all that out of place following the larger, commanding presence.

"My Lady!" a little girl cried in joy as she ran after the imposing figure. The girl's long, white hair flowed around her with an otherworldly air, like an aura of color against the dark of the chamber, and contrasting against her black, frilly dress.

"Little one," the black haired woman nodded in the little girl's direction, earning a luminescent blush and a cheerful smile.

"Did you enjoy your hunt?" the little one inquired, raising her arms in time to catch a ball and chain that was almost as big as she was tall.

"Indeed I did," the woman said, shedding off the pieces of black armor covering her limbs and shrugged her leather jacket off, leaving her dressed in a silk dress that flowed around her figure. "Quite enjoyable," she said in a wondering tone, looking up. Golden and black flames suddenly danced around her body, engulfing her from head to toes before they disappeared.

Black and white robes hung off her body, giving the woman an elegant and royal like air that was only enhanced by the black crown floating above her head.

"I found again a little Flame that I thought I had lost. She has changed... but she's still interesting, very interesting if a little quiet, but it was her Heart that really made me look twice."

The little girl placed down the flail next to the discarded outfit and rushed after her Lady. "Oh?" she inquired with the right amount of wonderment and the woman couldn't help smiling at the little one's antics.

A smile grew large and wicked on her face as she replied, "She's endured pain and suffering, and yet, she remains so naïve and pure," she said with a content voice. "Those eyes of hers are so beautiful... she still doesn't know how to hate. I wonder," she sighed and kept on walking towards a massive pair of black doors that got lost from sight as they kept on going up and up, far away towards the black ceiling.

Without missing a step she pushed the black titans away with a careless punch. The gates made a deafening bang as they crashed open, causing the walls to groan in protest. In front of the woman and girl, a sea of steel stretched far and wide. Hundreds upon hundreds of knights turned around and looked at the pair, and as one, the metallic giants sunk down to a knee in reverence.

The woman walked past them and they all lowered their heads as she marched by towards the end of the large chamber. The little girl rushed after the much taller woman, barely keeping up with her as they climbed a series of steps that ended at a large, flat surface where two other horned girls, clad in similar outfits than the one worn by the white haired girl, were waiting for them. Large vines and thorns made of a black metal started to crawl down from the walls, coming together and merging into a large black throne that quickly produced luxurious and comfortable looking cushions in royal purple colors.

The tall woman took seat and the trio of girls immediately perched themselves around her knees, looking up at their Lady with happiness on their faces. A ball of blue flames appeared in front of the woman and she reached out a hand, grabbing a black book left behind by the otherworldly fire.

"I wonder," she mused, leafing through the pages until she reached a page that started to glow with a warm blue color. "How long will it take you to learn what Hate is, little Mato?"

Blue flames danced from the page, floating with a grace that had the trio of girls cooing and sighing in joy. The flames forming glyphs in front of the woman who smiled at the display.

"What will it take...?"

**~Naive Heart~**

"**Mato, stop,"** she heard Rock saying, but the teen didn't reply. She was too busy trying to run away.

She dashed through the corridors, bowling over any creature that tried to get in her way. Every time she saw them, she felt Rock trying to jerk her hand towards her weapons but Mato forced the order down.

She didn't want to fight those monsters.

A cry of pain escaped Mato's mouth as she felt her side being slashed open, a lucky hit of one of the monsters. A black blade immediately appeared in her left hand but it only managed a little twitch before Mato spun away and pushed herself even harder. Running as if her life depended on it. Who would have guessed monsters taken out of horror movies chasing after her was such a great incentive?

"**Stop and fight,"** came the simple order.

Mato ignored it again.

She only slowed down so she could shove anything she could find into the path of her chasers, turning over vending machines, potted plants, chairs anything that wasn't nailed down, and tearing down anything that was nailed. She reached the floor Rock had been staying at and bolted for the door. She burst through and closed the door immediately behind her.

As if they were black flowers, small blades started to bloom around the frame of the door. Giving it a strong shake, Mato made sure it was firmly locked shut and then allowed herself to fall to her knees.

"**Mato?"**

She remained quiet.

"**Mato, you are safe now."**

"... Safe..." she managed to whisper before the first sob started. She was dimly that she was leaving their body, going back inside Rock's mind but she didn't try to fight her Other's control this time. She didn't know how long she had been down on her funk, but when she finally "looked up" from her crying she realized Rock had moved to sit on the bed.

"Better?" came the raspy sigh.

"**Yeah... sorry, Rock. I just-I'm sorry," **Mato replied. She suppressed a shudder, long used to them by now, when their black blade appeared again in their left hand. Mato knew what Rock was going to do and she knew she couldn't stop her. She didn't even know if she wanted to stop Rock to begin with!

The monsters in the hospital had appeared again, in far smaller numbers than when Rock had first... dealt with them, so Mato had thought she could help Rock, but...

"**I'm sorry." **

"Don't be," she could feel Rock was being honest, but then again what else could Rock be other than honest or brutally honest. For Rock there was nothing to be sorry or worry about, she knew Mato hadn't meant to be such a let down, she wasn't even disappointed or upset in any way... but that didn't ease the heaviness in Mato's heart. Mato had been the one to suggest they tracked down and cleaned the place from monsters after feeling how everything felt better, after all.

Mato "closed" her eyes and felt Rock's flames pulling away from her, taking with them the feeling of safety Rock's body provided her. After three beats of silence, Mato opened her eyes again, looking up at the ceiling of the hospital's bedroom.

She looked over to the bed on the other side of the room and felt relief flooding through her, knowing that Yomi was still in the real world. A large yawn wiped the smile off her face, though, and Mato rubbed her eyes tiredly.

After the _Otherworld Trip Disaster__ tm_ three days ago Rock and Mato had figured out a way to get Mato to be with Rock without leaving the Real World. No need to scare Mom, Yomi and everybody else to death again by leaving without a trace. It was so easy once they had figured it out, they were always in contact after all so they just needed to force the connection a touch harder. The only downside of the process was that every time Mato was with Rock in the Otherworld her body was left behind with nobody to control it, so they could only safely use it when they were "sleeping" in bed.

"Yeah, sleep... sounds so good right now," Mato mumbled, rubbing her eyes even harder. Her body was completely refreshed, but her mind kept telling her she hadn't been sleeping for three straight days, and she was ready to agree with her brain. _Sorry body!_ Mato sighed as her body cheerfully blew her a raspberry, sending the signal to get out of bed even as her mind begged her for five more minutes of rest.

Maybe spending the last three nights trying to see what they could do in Otherworld hadn't been her brightest idea.

Still, there was a silver lining in that mess; they were scheduled to be released that very day. She could already hear her bed calling her for a real night of sleep.

**~Heart of a Guardian~**

"Fujita-san!" the detective stopped on his attempts to open a stubborn drawer and looked up to see the newbie rushing towards his desk. The young man was slightly out of breath by the time he placed the folder in front of the older man.

"What is it now, Raidou?"

"T-they are releasing miss Kuroi today from the hospital!"

"What? But what are those damn doctors thinking?" the detective quickly opened the folder, immediately going through it. He had requested the hospital to inform him about any change on the girls conditions. He already knew Takanashi was ready to leave but the girl's parents managed to convince the hospital to let the girl remain with her friend, but Kuroi's condition...

"I asked them just that, sir. Well, not the exact wording mind you. Not that there's anything wrong with wha-."

"I get it, I get it," Fujita exasperatedly cut the young man off. "So what did they say?"

"Well, they couldn't find a reason to keep her in their care, so they released her to her mother's hands so she can finish her recovering at home."

"Raidou how do you expect me to..." he trailed off, reading the latest report the hospital had sent. The younger man started when the detective gave a strong kick to the desk without looking, causing one of the drawers to pop out. Fujita reached down and pulled out two more folders. He quickly found Kuroi's original medical report and the one that had been written the day he had talked with the girl's parents.

The detective read fast, comparing the reports he had at hand in silence until Raidou apparently couldn't contain his curiosity. "Sir?"

"Get your jacket, I want to pay them a visit before they leave."

**~Little Heart~**

"Okay, Mato, what's wrong now?" Yuu mightily said, leaning over her sitting friend. "And don't give me the _'it's nothing'_ line. I can tell something's been in your mind."

Mato gave her a cheesy, big smile as she scratched the back of her head. "But it's nothing, really it's nothing like that," she replied with that whiny voice that couldn't fool anyone. Yuu only gave her a flat stare. "Okay, it's something," she sighed in defeat, slumping a little.

Yuu smacked her on the back, earning a yelp of surprise from the tomboy. "Well, what's the problem then? Still worried those creeps will come back for Yomi?" she asked playfully, but she got a very serious look from her friend in return.

"Nobody will take Yomi from me ever again," she said in a voice that caused a shiver to run up Yuu's spine. The solemnity in the room was promptly dashed when Mato slumped in misery. "It's not that, though. It's just... I'm worried for Yomi. I'm wondering if she's really happy to be back, or if she's just keeping quie-ack!"

Yeah, Yuu didn't really like to deal with Mato when Mato was being silly. The fun kind of silly was good, mind you. A whack to Mato's hard head tended to solve the problem quickly. "Mato, I don't know what's gotten into you, but Yomi has been the happiest I have seen her in weeks! Seriously, you don't need to treat her as if she were a fragile thing, you know?"

The tomboy pouted at Yuu, rubbing the sore spot on her head before sighing dejectedly. "But..."

"Mato, what's wrong? You're starting to worry me," Yuu said and looked at the hospital room's door, checking nobody was coming. Yomi had left with the adults to get some last minute test done or something. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, I know how much Yomi means to you and how much you have done for her, but lately, when it comes to Yomi, you act scared as if, as if she were going to break if you breath the wrong way."

"I... I'm just worried about her. I'm just... I'm just thinking about what I have done lately, what I could have done before she..."

Yuu blinked at this and bopped Mato on the head again. "You haven't done anything different lately. You keep being an awesome friend for everybody, as you have always been." She told her with confidence, but Mato only seemed to shrink into herself even more.

"I'm just... I don't want her to suffer again..."

"Mato... you don't need to treat her as if she were made of crystal or like a little animal."

"I don't know, Yuu..."

"If you keep doing this, it'd be like putting her in a cage, like a little bird that can't fly."

"... Like a little bird in a cage... I could keep her safe but..."

"I don't think she'd like that. I can't imagine how much sadder she would be if you, of all people, treat her like that."

Yuu let her words sink in until Mato nodded a little to herself. "Yeah... hee... hee hee," she started to giggle a little, and Yuu tilted her head to the side in confusion as a silly smile spread over Mato's face.

"What is it?" Yuu inquired, sitting next to Mato on the hospital bed.

"I just remembered how Yomi's name is written," Mato replied and Yuu blinked in confusion before a smile spread on her face.

"Yes, she is your Little Bird Playing," Yuu nodded to her self.

"Hey, don't call her that. She's not mine," Mato replied, shoving a giggling Yuu to the side.

"Okay, okay. So, your Little Bird doesn't need a cage," she masterfully dodged a thrown pillow, "she just needs us to be with her to be happy."

Mato smiled at least and Yuu felt her chest warming. "I can do that."

"As long as you're happy she is happy, but if you are worried and sad then, you know," Yuu replied, pouncing on Mato. "So, you know what you need to do!" She giggled, happy to help her best friend, but she froze when Mato pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Yuu. Thanks for being here for me," Mato whispered, tightening her hold on Yuu for a moment.

"It's what friends are for, right?"

"Yep! Thanks for being here for Yomi too."

Yuu could only smile in reply, relishing on the warmth of her friend's embrace.

**~Lonely Flame~**

Golden deserts and seas stretched as far as the eye could see, burning with the heat of an implacable sun.

A cool wind blew over the landscape, carrying with it a sound she loved to hear.

Laughter.

Honey colored eyes looked from under a black hood, taking in every detail of the endless terrain. She remained in silence for an eternal moment that could have been a blink before she whispered a little phrase, too quiet to be heard in the silent realm.

Metallic, giant, black metallic hands traced lines on the sand.

A metallic tail, sharp like razors, designed to look like naked vertebrae, swayed from time to time, causing a shrill, metallic, grinding sound in the otherwise quiet world.

She looked up at the sun and whispered in a raspy tone, an unused voice.

"Friends..."

**~Content Heart~**

Yomi felt like poking Mato's cheek as her friend yawned. Such a yawn it was, it reminded Yomi more of a doggie yawning than a person. She put down her treacherous hand before she could indulge in her childish thoughts.

"Did you have problems sleeping?" She couldn't help asking, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn't want to disturb anybody else in the van with her questions.

Mato blinked blearily for a moment before giving Yomi a big smile. "No, no problem," she said, but Yomi could only frown, not fooled in the slightest by the extremely transparent lie. Mato must have noticed because she immediately straightened and her eyes became focused. "Well, I just couldn't sleep much yesterday and we woke early today for, you know," she replied uneasily, but not in the same… "_frightened_" tone she had been using a couple days ago.

"Well, you will get to sleep once we reach home," Yomi replied, smiling warmly to her friend. Mato smiled in return, causing that warm feeling to spread through Yomi's chest and she giggled a little. "Then we can finish the homework tomorrow!"

As expected, Mato's relief to be back home was dashed by the reminder of the work they still had to do. From such a sunny smile to a gloomy and childish pout.

Yomi felt slightly guilty but couldn't help herself. She just loved seeing Mato's face going through so many honest emotions.

"Well, you can rest a little like Yuu in the meantime," Yomi pointed out and Mato spared a look at the sleeping… "**annoyance"…** girl who was flanking Mato's right on the other end of the seat. The tomboy made a thoughtful noise and Yomi pressed on. "Besides, there are cops still watching us, so nothing bad could happen," Yomi reminded her and Mato looked back at the other police car that was following them.

"Yeah, there's nothing to worry about," Mato whispered.

For some reason the detectives and police in charge of their case had insisted on letting them take care of their transportation. They provided a van big enough that Yomi's and Mato's families, along with Yuu and the driver, could fit comfortably in a single car. Her dad and the cop on the front, their mothers and Hiro in the middle, and the trio of girls on the far back.

"Though, I'm curious," Yomi whispered and Mato looked up at her, making an inquiring sound. "What did Detective Fujita want to talk with you about?"

Mato scrunched her eyes a little, scratching the back of her head. "Well," she started in the same whispering tone than Yomi was using. "Well, he just wanted to make sure I was feeling well enough to leave, and if I remembered anything from, you know."

Yomi made a little sound of understanding, a little mortified for bringing back the… Event… for Mato.

"Told him I was feeling a-okay already, I could stand on my own and all and nothing hurt anymore."

"Nothing hurts, really?" Yomi asked in a quiet, playful tone.

"Nothing at all!"

"Not even here? Or here? How about here?" Yomi asked, poking Mato on several places. The tomboy for her part simply smiled smugly. The elegant girl smiled in return, accepting the challenge and she kept poking, trying to find the right place.

… _**Black and blue blood sprayed around her black claws. So warm and sticky…**_

Yomi's hand immediately pulled back, but the damage had been done. Mato grunted quietly, her face screwing up in pain as she did her best to remain quiet and not disturb anybody. Yomi could almost see tears forming around Mato's eyes!

She felt her chest tightening, bile rising to her throat, and she found herself unable to form words.

_So stupid! _

_Idiot! _

_You know she's still hurt, why did you do that? _

It would be better if Yomi wasn't at her side to mess things up…

"Hey, it's okay," Mato's touch snapped Yomi out of her thoughts. She looked up and found Mato's worried eyes, shining with a care that Yomi knew she still didn't deserve. "Just a little bruise that hasn't gone away just yet," she reassured the distraught girl, taking Yomi's hand between hers and giving her a little squeeze.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be! You did nothing wrong Yomi! You could **never** do anything wrong," Mato told her with such conviction that Yomi couldn't help feeling even lower. "You will never hurt me either, Yomi."

… **Not even when you deserve it? When you hurt me?…**

"Even if you hurt me, I would never feel any pain, I promise."

Yomi could only nod a little, staring at the window to her left. She tried not to think about what had just happened, about how she had ruined the mood with something so stupid.

Before her thoughts could keep spiraling down that familiar place, she started, feeling Mato placing her head against the green eyed girl's shoulder. Yomi stared in silence as Mato used her as a pillow without a care in the world. Her chest felt light and so very warm... Her hand raised on its own accord, reaching up and gently touching Mato's cheek.

She didn't know how long they were like that, but she didn't care. In that moment she felt she didn't need anything else and she wished they could stay like that forever.

… Then Mato's head slipped a little, resting against Yomi's chest.

The elegant girl felt her cheeks warming up slowly at first and then wildly as Mato nuzzled against her chest.

"Ma-Ma-Mat-Mato?" Yomi squeaked, wanting to cover herself but knowing it would be impossible without pushing Mato away. She stiffened when she felt Mato chuckling against her body. "Stop that!"

"It's not my fault Yomi's grown so much," she giggled and Yomi felt her face getting even warmer still.

"That isn't my fault either!" Yomi managed to mumble, her eyes fixed on the top of Mato's head. She still didn't try to remove her friend from her resting resting place.

"So much better than mine,"Yomi could practically feel Mato pouting. "I'm flaaat like an ironing board."

"Well, excuse me, but that's how it goes on the family, Mato-chan!" she froze, Yomi's eyes going wide like saucers. She was dimly aware of the sudden coldness in her heart... but, she quickly realized it was because Mato had pulled herself upright once again.

"H-h-how do why are you eavesdropping on other people's conversations?" Mato managed to groan. Mrs Kuroi simply turned around, slinging an arm over the seat and smiling smugly at her daughter. Yomi's mother simply gave them a beatific smile, clearly enjoying the mortification of the two friends.

"What did you expect?" A pale arm rose from Mato's right. "You too are so loud, you know?" Yomi and Mato could only stare as Yuu stretched languidly before waving merrily at the embarrassed girls. "Some people actually had to go to school today... why can't I get some rest here..."

**~Jealous Flame~**

Green eyes opened wearily, staring up to a checkered ceiling. She took a hand to her chest, where she could still feel that horrible pain, as if a bleeding wound were still trying to heal, but for some reason it was bearable now.

She stood up from her warm place on the cushy bed, and made her way out of the bedroom, stumbling on wobbly legs.

She managed all of four steps before she tripped down, landing on her shoulder.

She didn't make a sound of discomfort, it hadn't really hurt at all. At least, not like the agony she had endured for so long. Nothing at all like the feeling of having her chest ripped open and have her heart torn off, crushed and stomped on.

Or the feeling of loneliness that had drowned her so many times over.

Yes, she didn't care for such insignificant nuisance, especially now that the warm feelings kept growing in her chest. Sweet, beautiful feelings that made her heart swell with such a good emotion. She was simply annoyed at her own weakness.

She hated her pathetic state.

With an annoyed huff she pushed the thought away and forced herself to climb back to her feet. Metallic claws dug into the checkered walls for support and she dragged herself upright. Only later she would remember her black wings fluttering a little, trying to help her, as she got up.

She walked down corridors, feeling the good feelings growing within her and she couldn't help a pleased and little smile. Her entire being hurt so much, as if her whole body were about to be torn apart, just barely enough to make her want to rest down and simply let go, but...

She didn't know why, but despite all the pain she felt good.

She wanted to live to feel more of those good feelings...

She wanted to see those blue eyes again.

**~A Watcher's Heart~**

She took the cup of coffee out of the microwave and, after making sure it had the right amount of sugar and milk, made her way to the only couch in the office.

Almost everybody had gone home long ago, leaving the school eerily quiet, but she remained behind to check on her personal project. The calm of the school suited her just fine and she could always make use of what the school could offer her in her little endeavor. The free coffee and pastries were always a good plus.

She took a sip of coffee, letting the warm liquid make its course through her body before standing up. She made her way to the computer in silence and, after a quick password, opened a folder. She would have to thank little Yuu later on; the amount of information Koutari was providing her on Kuroi and Takanashi was simply perfect.

The timing of Takanashi and Kuroi's little disappearance stunt was far too perfect to be anybody else.

That was slightly worrisome, but she calmed down knowing that monster hadn't gone on a rampage for some reason. It could be possible she wasn't the same, and if that was the case, then she would seize the opportunity that had landed on her lap.

She never thought finally killing Black Rock Shooter would have such possibilities.

**~Huntress's Flame~**

She was frustrated.

So very frustrated.

The new Flame was being specially difficult to track this time. No Domain had been created after she felt the birth of that Other and she had already checked on those endless burial grounds that had appeared a few weeks before. However, that Otherself's presence was proving almost impossible to find, it was almost as if it didn't exist anymore.

Or as if it were trying to define itself.

Her black claws idly scratched one of her horns as she contemplated the ruined Moon on the sky.

There was a faint noise behind her and she calmly turned around. She looked dispassionately down at the figure that was rising from the ground; the being slowly squirmed and twitched as it struggled to its full height. She simply looked down at it as it tried to remain standing, the pathetic little thing. Like the newborn it was, it couldn't really do anything other than struggling for every movement it existed.

It looked like a young girl, shaking from head to toes, and for some reason it smiled timidly at the horned girl. The black, hooded cloak fell over her delicate frame, providing what little modesty it could be afforded in that harsh world.

The red eyed girl raised a bladed foot and brought it down on the smaller girl's chest, driving her to the ground. The smaller girl cried in pain and confusion for a moment before the metallic foot fell on her throat. There was the briefest moment of panic, the dark eyes looking up pleadingly, begging for mercy of her attacker. An all too brief struggle ensued before the bladed foot finally touched the ground.

The still covered head rolled away in silence, coming to a stop several meters away.

The horned girl looked down at the corpse at her feet and the blood splattered over her legs before looking back up to the moon.

A giant, red eye opened on the face of the moon, glowering down to the ruined landscape for a moment before closing and vanishing from sight.

"You haven't found them?"

She glared but didn't bother replying. There was no need to acknowledge stupid questions anyway.

"I'm most certain of the identity of their counterparts. I could take care of things on this side, so you wouldn't need to worry yourself over this."

She snarled at the statement. There was no way she was going to let her pray escape now!

She turned away from the desolated landscaped and walked on. Her metallic feet slowly sunk into the ground as she marched on, and soon the rest of her body disappeared without a trace, other than the black clad corpse left behind.

She could wait.

The wait only made the end of the hunt all the most enjoyable.

**~Naive Heart~**

"See ya tomorrow Mom. Don't bother me, Hiro," Mato halfheartedly waved goodbye to her family as she stood up from the dinner table.

"Hey!" both of them replied. One annoyed, the other scowling.

"I'm tired, I just sleep go," Mato muttered, stifling a large yawn.

"Pfft, what?" Hiro snickered and Mato stared at him with a confused look on her face for a few moments.

"Mato, you told detective Fujita you were feeling fine," Mom said and Mato flopped back down on her chair.

"I am, Mom," she didn't quite manage to cut down the whine off her reply so she quickly hurried to elaborate. "I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep yesterday and I only got a little of sleep in the car ride thanks to somebody scaring the sleep outta me!" she finished, glaring daggers at her smirking Mom.

Mom didn't even feel bad for being sneaky sneaky and spying on their private conversation, did she? Well, Mom could laugh all she wanted, Mato had very important things to do. In fact, she needed to go already, Rock could be waiting already for all Mato knew.

"You have been distracted lately."

Mato froze. "What do you mean?" It was one thing Yuu finding out, but Mom?

"I mean that your mind is somewhere else most of the time, and you're worrying a lot about what you do and say now," Mom replied, gently placing a hand over one of Mato's.

"You're also spacing out like crazy," Hiro decided to add, but Mato didn't feel like replying to him.

"I can tell it's very important, if you want to talk about it, I'm here," Mom told her and Mato could only nod a little. She stood up and was about to go towards her room but she stopped. She looked at her annoying little brother and to her mom who was looking up at her with eyes full of worry and care, and she found she couldn't leave just yet.

"What's wrong Mato?" Mom asked her when Mato hugged her tightly before moving on to Hiro, getting the deed done before he could be a brat about it.

"Nothing Mom. I'm just happy to be back home, to have Yomi and everything else back to normal," Mato replied, feeling her heart ache.

There was a brief moment of silence before Mom replied, "It's okay then, go on and get your rest. You and Yomi aren't done with your homework, so I expect you to be up and ready when Yomi calls for you, understood?" Mom then slapped her hard enough on the back to make Hiro wince in shared pain.

"Yes Ma'am!" Mato squeaked, rubbing her back as she hurried towards the stairs.

She slowed down as she reached the top and Mato strained herself to hear the clink and clank of dishes being taken to the sink.

"Sorry Mom," Mato whispered and then rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. They had cleaned themselves at the hospital, but Mato really didn't like the smell of the soap and shampoos used there. As she told her mom, she wanted things to go back to normal, especially now that she new they could never be normal again.

She was done with the deed quickly and made her way to her bedroom before she could bump on Hiro or Mom. She closed the door behind her and then kicked off her sandals. "I still don't know..." she whispered to herself, still thinking of Mom's offer, throwing clothes around the place without caring where they landed. She wasn't a slob in any way but being able to just do what she wanted in her own bedroom was already improving her mood considerably.

She would need to be ready this time.

She slipped into her favorite shorts and t-shirt combo and then slipped into her bed, allowing herself to snuggle against the familiar feel and smell. A sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was surrounded by blue and white fire, flowing around her glowing figure, burning brighter and brighter until the light consumed everything and then there was blackness.

Then _she_ opened their eyes.

Mato instinctively took a deep breath, barely keeping herself from screaming at the position she found herself in. Namely several hundred feet off the ground, standing on a very thin surface that was more of a blade than anything a normal person would want to stand on. As usual, Rock didn't made any outward sign to acknowledge Mato's presence, but the tomboy could feel the way something changed within Rock as they became one once again.

The real girl took a moment to study the world around her, suppressing a shudder at the height before focusing on a structure that was far away on the horizon. She had missed it when they had been at the hospital, and before that they had been in what Rock called her Domain before jumping into the Domain the Other Yomi had been hiding in. Now that she was free to see the rest of the Other world, it was impossible to miss the titanic structure.

She wasn't sure what to call it, other than covered in chains and blades, and large enough that the mountains on the horizon looked small in comparison. If she squinted, it almost looked as if it were a monster opening its squarish mouth, with four "eyes" placed atop the maw. If she squinted even more she could even call it a sort of door, but that was stretching it already.

Mato snapped out of her thoughts as a black blade sprang from the surface they were standing on. She "_looked_" down as Rock started to make her way to ground level, jumping from blade to blade to the bottom of the structure. Those structures made out of swords seemed to pop out from time to time, but Mato couldn't tell why they did; she only knew Rock liked to spend time resting on them. Back at the hospital, the room Rock had taken for herself had grown those things too, but they were very small, more like little flowers of black metal than the towering forest Rock had been using to rest on a moment ago.

Rock landed gently on their feet and started to walk towards the city after taking a moment to put their hood up. Mato looked back to where the Other version of her special place stood amongst the gloom of the ruined city, surrounded by the park of sakura trees that for some reason seemed to glow despite there not being any sun on the sky. It made her feel better knowing that place existed even in this Other world.

"_**Hey, Rock, can we switch?"**_Mato asked and her Other stopped for a moment.

"Sure," came the simple reply and Mato suddenly felt herself taking control of their body. She looked down to their glove covered hands for a moment before she pulled down the zipper of their jacket, closing it down. Rock may not care about how much skin they showed, but Mato was more than a bit self conscious about it, especially after the little episode on the trip back home.

If Mom and Rock were any indication, Mato would never get anything to write home about. How did Yomi felt about having such nice boobs?

She jerked a little when she felt something like amusement coming from the back of her mind.

Mato quickly shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of those thoughts and reached down to touch the hilt of their black katana. "Are you sure you're comfortable?" she asked and got a little hum of confirmation. "Okay, I'll stay only a couple hours, I'm still busted from yesterday," Mato said but Rock didn't reply this time. Mato took that as her cue to get on moving.

One of the first things they realized when Mato took control of Rock's body was that she had no idea how to move like Rock. She could walk, run and could even hold her huge weapons without a problem. Things started to go wrong when Mato tried to move like Rock. For some reason she couldn't run with that lighting like speed, she couldn't hit as fast or as hard, she couldn't ignore pain, she couldn't heal as fast as Rock did.

Also...

"Oh crudcrudcrudcrud!" Mato yelped as she saw the rapidly approaching wall. She had tried to jump towards the rooftops of the abandoned city but instead of the perfect landing Rock could have managed in her sleep and with broken legs, Mato was instead in route to pancake herself against the side of the building. She managed to hit feet first and then flail their arms fast enough to catch the ledge of the rooftop, somehow managing to keep themselves from falling back to the street.

She had managed to cover the height of four floors, but compared to what Rock could do, it was pathetic.

"We are still weak," Mato sighed once she found a way to drag herself atop the house, glad nobody was around to see her kicking her legs on the air as she pulled themselves up. "No, _I_ can't get your body to work like you do, Rock." The Other didn't reply. "Or maybe I'm just too tired from spending these last couple nights here in Otherworld." Rock hummed within Mato's mind. "Or maybe it's because I'm not here here..."

"**Tomorrow you rest." **And Rock stopped her before Mato could get herself worked into a rant.

Mato sat on the edge of the building and let out a sigh. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. I'll go to Yomi's to finish our homework. Maybe she'll let me catch up some sleep," she stretched up her arms and stared out at the ruined city. She hadn't seen any monster around, but she had seen the occasional slash marks and bullet holes that followed Rock. Her friend had been busy.

She had been too tired to get a good feel, but for some reason things didn't look as bad as they did back at the hospital. She hadn't really had to defend herself from anything so far.

Mato stood up, looked at the street down below, and after a moment of silence she nodded to herself. Taking a deep breath she kicked off the edge and fell to the ground, only stumbling a little as she touched down. Even if she couldn't do everything Rock's did, she was still capable of some things no normal person could do, and that was all kinds of awesome in her humble opinion. "Okay, let's try again!"

**~Old Flame~**

Golden eyes followed the young Paradox as she moved through the city, seemingly without a care in the world. The little Flame seemed content to let her Heart order her around for the time being, without any threat on sight there was no need to get her Heart under the protection of the Flame. It was obvious the trust each had for the other was abundant, and their bonds seemed to just grow stronger with each moment.

Such a lovely thing.

Not every day you could find a Heart who trusted so their Flame.

"Little Mato," she sighed, leaning her chin against her hand as she looked at the blue eyed Paradox running around like a carefree child. A wistful smile grew on her face.

"What will it feel having all your hopes and dreams shattered around you? Will you still love her, little Rock?"

She couldn't wait!

**~Naive Heart~**

The street was filled by the thunder of their boots hitting the pavement and Mato knew Rock's face had an expression of joy that would be impossible to find on her on any other day. Mato couldn't help grinning like a maniac as she started to cover entire blocks with a single step, and she could almost feel herself running faster and faster!

She could see a row of two stories houses marking the end of her run and she was reminded of Kohata's crazy idea for the basketball team.

Pushing as hard as she could, she jumped off the street and used the rooftops to launch herself as high as possible.

Mato closed their eyes, feeling their jacket and long hair fluttering wildly behind them as they soared through the sky. She could feel her heart swelling as she realized she was finally moving like Rock did. That thought made her smile even wider and she opened their eyes just in time to see a pair of confused purple eyes staring back at her for all of a microsecond before they went their separate ways. Mato turned around in mid air, watching as the other girl turned around too; Mato had a moment to realize that she and the other girl had crossed paths in the middle of their jump.

Mato managed to right herself before touching the ground and she stood still for a moment, looking in the direction the other girl must have landed on. Mato herself had landed near the food district, near the restaurant area.

"Rock, do y-."

_CRASH!_

Mato twirled around with a yelp as something landed behind them, hitting the ground hard enough to shatter the streets. The cloud of dust hadn't even started to settle down when a playful voice filled the silence.

"¡Hola, buenas noches!" the incredibly chirpy tone sounded so out of place in the Otherworld that Mato could only stare as the tall -super tall- girl stood up, brushing her hands against her black, thigh high boots. Those hands were very similar to the Other Yomi's, but Mato's attention wasn't focused on those claws that could have probably chopped her head off with ease. Instead, she could only stare at the largest set of boobs she had ever seen. The black top didn't look quite all that capable of keeping those things from breaking free!

"Hee hee, cute," Mato instinctively pulled back when the other girl bent slightly over to stare Mato in the eye. Black claws reached up, pushing up a witch-like hat -held in place by purple, vertebrae-like horns that reminded Mato of the Other Yomi's horns- so their eyes could met again. "A pervert Otherself, that's a new," she giggled and then things went out of control.

Rock took control of their body and immediately summoned their Black Cannon. Before Mato could even begin to protest, Rock aimed the massive weapon right at the purple haired girl's face and fired without hesitation. Mato could only stare in mute horror as the place the other girl stood on was reduced to nothing more than blue flames. The world started to spin for the girl, her insides felt cold and something in her chest felt as if somebody were tearing her insides out.

Her vision started to cloud and she felt tears about to burst before an amused chuckle filled the silence.

"My my, how rude!" Rock spun around, sword jumping to their waiting hand and Mato breathed in relief. "It seems I'll have to deal with this naughty girl!"

The purple haired girl was standing a few meters away, completely unharmed, one hand resting against her hip and the other... holding a giant ax with a blade that was as big as Rock was tall... Rock raised their black blade against the other girl and the taller girl chuckled.

"¡Qué bien! I was looking for some peace and relaxation to tell the truth, _**but you'll do!**_"

Mato only had a moment to see the giant ax coming towards them in slow motion, Rock raising the black cannon to block, and suddenly Mato realized they were on a completely different street. A brick falling to the ground drew her attention towards the hole on the side of a restaurant. Her brain needed a moment to figure out they had been blown through said restaurant, but Rock wasn't interested on such things and she was already jumping back to the fight. She was about to hop through the hole on the wall but she found a giant purple sphere moving in their direction.

Blue bullets made it explode almost immediately, but just as quickly another sphere blasted from the street. Rock repeated the process but immediately the other girl fell through the ceiling, like a wrecking ball trying to crush the building. The impact was hard enough that it tossed them off the ground and the only thing Rock could do was turn around and raise her cannon to block a purple blade of energy.

Mato cried out in pain, her mind at least managing to catch on just how much they were hurting! She could feel Rock's ribs protesting, their shoulders felt as if their arms had been dislocated and their hands were painfully shaking from the strain of trying to block the attacks. The world spun several times before Rock rolled them back to their feet and ducked. Mato could see the axe passing above them, only cutting the tail of their jacket. Rock sprung up and Mato felt pain explode on the back of her head, just as she heard somebody else's yelp of pain after Rock used her head to catch her under the chin. The black cannon aimed at the other girl's stomach and Rock-

_**'No!'**_

Rock's hand jerked for a moment but she didn't fire, giving the taller girl more than enough time to kick them up and then backhand them back to the ground. Rock rolled back to their feet, dodging another purple wave of hurt. Mato yelled out a warning when she noticed the other girl right above them, the giant axe held high above her for a moment right before it was brought down on them, but Rock had already moved away. Her aims were zero'd right on that black hat, ready to blow up her head, and she pulled the trigge-

_**'No!'**_

The shot went wide. However, that wasn't enough to stop Rock and she simply closed back in. The other girl swung her weapon, trying to take off their legs but Rock hopped just high enough to dodge and swung the cannon like a club in the same movement. The purple eyed girl managed to block the blow with a hand but it left her wide open for the black blade to reach her heart.

"**Don't hurt her!"**

A loud clank rang through the empty street.

There was a long moment of silence and, much to Mato's relief, nobody moved. She dared take a look at the other girl and she almost gave in a nervous chuckle when she realized the other girl didn't look like she wanted to keep on fighting. Instead, she looked over at them, with a curious expression on her face... and the axe still ready to come down and chop them in half. Mato relaxed a little when the other girl raised an eyebrow and her eyes shone with a question.

Mato didn't know how to answer that question.

"So... the Other is carrying her other around?" the purple haired girl asked slowly, twirling her weapon for a moment before letting it rest on the ground... causing an impact that shattered the street. "¿Nada es sencillo en éste mundo, verdad?"

"**You mean me?" **Mato asked to herself and started when the other girl giggled with a snap of her fingers.

"Yep, you! ¡Eres una escandalosa cuando piensas así!" she said, shaking her head with a smile.

"**Oh... excuse me, what did you say?" **Mato asked while trying to get control of their body but Rock didn't budge.

"Hmm? Oh, I said _'You're pretty noisy when you think like that'_, and... eh..."

"_**'Nothing is simple in this world, isn't it?'**_**later,"** said a dark whisper and Mato realized she could feel two heartbeats from the taller girl.

"**Oh! Ah- I'm Mato!"** she said quickly once it became obvious there wouldn't be any more fighting. "**Kuroi Mato, and this is-."**

"Black Rock Shooter," the other girl interrupted her.

Mato could only stare for a few moments before she managed to mumble, "**How did you know?"** she asked and got a teasing smile in return.

"We always know," Rock said and Mato made a confusing sound.

"**We... know?"** she repeated and looked at the other girl.

"My name is Itzel!" she told her with a smile but said no more.

"**We know..."** Mato whispered and "closed" her eyes, seeing the familiar world of colors swirling around her for a long moment, many different colors and emotions moving in front of her eyes until a purple color stood above all of them, bursting with a joyful and content flame that felt so familiar and nostalgic all of sudden.

"Mii..." Mato whispered and she blinked in surprise, looking down at their gloves hands, opening and closing them into fists.

"That's the name of this pretty lady!" Mii, or rather Izelu, said and Mato looked back at her. "So! Little Mato, right? You're new, I guess?"

Mato sheepishly scratched the back of her head, looking to the ground. "Yeah, was that obvious? I... am not really sure of what I-we are doing," Mato admitted.

"Well, you're lucky you awakened now. From what I have heard, people were terrified of coming to this part of the world for a very long time. Something about a burning blue Flame, por lo que he oído otros decir era todo un monstruo," Izelu said with a lazy twirl of her axe that didn't look quite so threatening anymore. "Well, you haven't gotten yourself killed and managed to get to of the upper levels of Otherworld, so that's a good start as any, but..."

"**Don't force Black Rock Shooter to do something like that in the middle of a fight again," **Mii said this time. "**Itzel wanted to keep it friendly. If it had been anybody else, they could have killed you." **

Mato gulped at the look she got. It reminded her so much of Rock's look and it made her fell incredibly small... even more insignificant than what she already felt next to the towering and busty girl.

"Hey, don't look so down," Izelu said, resting the hilt of her axe behind her neck, lazily holding it in position with both arms... and in the process making her bust stand up even more. "Nadie salió lastimada el día de hoy, so just keep that in mind the next time you two get in a fight," she said and Mato felt a little bit of irritation growing in. Again saying things Mato couldn't understand...

"Yeah, don't worry I... I will..." Mato replied, but her eyes slowly started to close on their own. She rubbed her face and tried to say something but her mind felt very sluggish. Still, she couldn't help smiling a little when she felt a spike of concern coming from Rock.

"You okay?" Izelu asked and Mato managed to nod.

"I'm tired," she mumbled a reply.

"Better go back to the real world, Mato. No need to force yourself to the ground," Izelu said and gave her a mock of a salute and the ground below her was filled with purple and black flowers. Before Mato could react, Izelu sunk into the purple floor, leaving the blue eyed girl more awake than she thought she could have felt a second ago. Mato picked up the discarded black sword and poked the ground where Izelu had been standing, moving the purple flowers around but she found only the cracked asphalt beneath the purple petals.

"**Do you want to follow her?"** Rock asked and Mato shook their head no.

"Maybe later. I want to ask her some things... but I really want to sleep nouuuuh~," Mato knew she sounded very pathetic, but she couldn't help whining. She was beat!

She flopped down on her butt and stared up to the full moon hanging on the sky. "Rock, I'll see you later," she mumbled, letting herself fall on her back. "Take care, don't do anything reckless," she said and closed their eyes.

She opened her eyes and Mato sighed at the feel of a familiar sheet wrapped around her body. She blindly reached for her cellphone and pulled it down under the covers. "Idiot," she winced a little at the light coming from the little screen, but at least now she knew it was a little past one in the morning. She rubbed her actually-not-sore eyes and yawned loudly, feeling some tears under her hands.

Mato lowered her arms and pulled her head from under the covers, staring at the stars she had put on her wall, and she couldn't help smiling as she remembered Rock also shared her love for stars... which kinda made sense all things considered.

Another yawn tackled her and she pulled the covers under her chin, stealing a look at the window and the starry sky.

"Yomi..." she sighed, feeling her chest ache. Yomi was back, where she belonged and Mato was going to make sure it wouldn't change again.

Things were back to the way they were supposed to be.

She was happy, Yomi was happy...

Her eyelids were so heavy...

She smiled in happiness, knowing the next morning she would really make sure to keep up her promise to Yomi.

She would make sure Yomi would never be sad again.

**~Blue Flame~ **

Rock hadn't moved at all since Mato left. She didn't see any need to just yet.

She spared a glimpse to the bed of purple flowers, petals falling down even as she watched, before looking towards the sky.

When she had told Mato if she wanted to follow Mii and Itzel, she knew they could have tracked them down. Just like when they first broke into the Other Yomi's Domain, Rock knew she could have followed after them. She didn't know how she knew, but that was irrelevant, the only thing that mattered was that she could do it.

She could do it right now, in fact. For some reason she felt an almost overwhelming need to find that girl again, but not in the same way than finding Yomi's Other. She wanted to find Mii and fight her, fight until one of them laid broken and destroyed...

Nothing like what she wanted to do with Yomi's Other...

Every time she thought about her, she couldn't help thinking about Yomi and all those emotions Mato held for her little princess, her little bird.

Rock wanted to find her. She wanted to have her in her arms once again and... and not fight.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Dead Master..."

**~Awakening Flame~**

After what felt like hours, she finally arrived to a pair of black doors blocking her path and she scowled. Her glare didn't get the doors open -sadly-, so she kicked them away.

She immediately stopped.

A large chamber stretched in front of her, the ceiling disappearing high above in the distance. There was debris all over the place, and chains hung from the ceiling, walls and other pieces of black metal. Nothing out of the ordinary, she had seen plenty of the same junk all over the place.

What caused her to stop was the throne in the middle of the chamber, placed on top of a pillar of weapons and several metallic objects she knew she recognized. It was also crumbling, the metal rusting and all but ruined, about to collapse on itself.

She approached slowly and at least noticed little green plants coming from the cracks on the metal, slowly making their way towards her. She knelt down and watched in silence as the plants came together, trying to reach up before they parted, leaving in their place a delicate black and blue flower.

"It feels... so nice," she whispered.

Wicked talons gingerly touched one of the petals and the flower started to glow with a gentle blue light. The girl couldn't help but smile as she felt heat rushing to her cheeks.

"Beautiful..."

**~Final~ **

But, we finally are back to normal. Why change that? I only have to make sure to take away any suffering from Yomi. Nothing will hurt her again, and nothing will change for worst, Rock.

_**Continuará**_

A Wild Mii appears! One of the characters from the Game. This won't be an OVA exclusive story. I'll do my best to merge the different BRS canons out there, along with Huke's original creations instead of using OC's

Also, I made a thread for Honest Hearts over SpaceBattles's Creative Writing. I'm rewriting the first chapters to better fit a few ideas, so if you stop by there you may help me as I go through the rewrite. The next chapter will take a bit to be posted but it won't be the same wait for this chapter.

Also, other characters will get more time under the spotlight in the immediate future.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	9. Discontinued

Well people, I'm sorry this isn't an update. This story is getting discontinued, so now you will have to check the rewrite of this fic I'm about to upload in a couple minutes, I'm afraid. These old chapters are staying where they are for the people who enjoyed them; I have had people asking me to post old fics of mine I had deleted, but sadly I had lost the original files. Cheap solution, I know.

I have 3 full chapters waiting to be uploaded. I took things in a different direction because I felt things were way too close to canon. Some people have already read the new stuff and they seemed to have enjoyed it, I hope you like the new stuff too FFnet readers!


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